The Fable Arrangement of John Ruskin‘s ‘The King of the Golden River’

The article presents a fable study of J. Ruskin’s novel ‘The King of the Golden River’ in accordance with the four-phase model of the literary text plot development. There sequentially come the separation phase, which corresponds to the description of the characters in the category of their values-based orientations; the partnership phase – meeting supernatural creatures, who become enemies for the older brothers and helpers for the youngest; challenges with moral duty; the deadly challenge phase – risky adventure and meeting with dying creatures; this phase is left uncompleted for the older brothers, but fir the youngest one it introduces the incorporation phase, which transforms the main character in their new internality. The study of John Ruskin‘s novel ‘The King of the Golden River’ based on the classic fable system lets consider the evolution of the genre of a literary fairytale and expound its ideological and literary value.     Keywords: fable; plot; novel; separation phase; partnership phase; liminal phase; incorporation phase; main character

Worldview in Gothic Story by E. F. Benson “Gavon’s Eve”

The issues of creating a picture of the world in the story of the English writer E. F. Benson’s “Gavon’s Eve”. It is concluded that the picture of the world is organized by two external chronotopes: the chronotope of the Scottish village of Gavon, the chronotope of the Pictish fortress and the internal chronotope, concentrated around the consciousness of the narrator. Attention is paid to the functioning of forms of artistic space and time, built on the principle of binary oppositions. It is shown that spatial correlations between external and internal, far and near, western and eastern have an increased semantic significance in the narrative. Particular attention is paid to the role of the spatial categories of up and down, revealing the author’s concept of the eternity of infernal evil. It has been proven that the key forms of artistic time are day and night, light and dark, past and present, which are traditional for Gothic subjects. The relevance of the study is due to the growing interest in the genre of gothic prose, which today is associated, in particular, with attempts to resist anti-humanistic, destructive trends in the life of modern society. The novelty of the research is seen in the fact that the issues of artistry    of Gothic stories by E. F. Benson is still underresearched

Features of statistical methods application in rating construction

The article is devoted to solving the problem of rating construction methodology, including issues of comparability in dynamics and inconsistency. The study analyzes approaches to the procedures for aggregating private components of the rating. Attention is focused on the shortcomings of ratings used in international and domestic practice as integral meters, among which are the incompleteness of information on the private components of ratings, an unacceptably high level of error in the development of ratings as integral meters and the lack of evaluation of their quality. The approach to rating construction on the basis of average weighted sum of ranks is offered. The ratio of the sum of the squares of the rank paired coefficients of the private rating to the total sum of the squares of the rank coefficients for all private ratings (the matrix of squares of rank correlations) is used as weights. The approach proposed by the authors, in contrast to the existing methodological approaches, makes it possible to build a rating in the absence of information about private components. The novelty of the study results lies in the method of estimating weights of private ratings as basic components of the rating. The article presents the results of construction a rating of the regions of the Central Federal District in Russia for achieving national goals in 2021 based on private ratings, which confirmed the adequacy of the proposed approach. The article may be of interest to a wide range of researchers in the field of statistics and regional economics

Preoperative method of assessment of gallbladder lesion in acute cholecystitis

Background. To date acute cholecystitis remains one of the most common urgent abdominal diseases in which postoperative complications and mortality are possible.The aim. To assess the correlation of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase and alkaline phosphatase concentrations in blood plasma with the form of acute cholecystitis.Methods. A study of 105 patients with acute calculous cholecystitis, 35 – with chronic calculous cholecystitis (comparison group), who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy, was performed. At admission to the hospital, the activity of gammaglutamyltranspeptidase (GGTP) and alkaline phosphatase in blood plasma was determined by kinetic colorimetric method.Results. A direct correlation was revealed between the level of GGTP concentration and the severity of destruction in the gallbladder wall. With catarrhal cholecystitis, it was 340 ± 116.9 U/l (p < 0.05), with phlegmonous – 108.1 ± 29.5 U/l (p < 0.05), with gangrenous – 32.9 ± 7.5 U/l (p < 0.05). Along with this, a direct correlation was revealed between the concentration of alkaline phosphatase and the severity of destruction in the gallbladder wall. In catarrhal cholecystitis, the enzyme activity was 160.3 ± 34.2 U/l (p < 0.05), in phlegmonous – 129.9 ± 14.6 U/l (p < 0.05), in gangrenous – 57 ± 18.5 U/l (p < 0.05).Conclusion. Determination of the concentration of GGTP and alkaline phosphatase in combination with other diagnostic criteria makes it possible to determine the presence of destructive forms of acute cholecystitis with high specificity and sensitivity before surgery

Продуктивность лактирующих коров при использовании в рационах сенажа из вико-овсяно-гороховой смеси с внесением нового биологического консерванта

The effect of a new biological preservative representing a mix of lyophilized Lactobacillus plantarum VKPM V-4173, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis VKPM V-2092 and Propionibacterium acidipropionici VKPMV-5723 strains (40 : 40 : 20) on the quality of haylage prepared from a mix of vetch, oats, and pea has been studied. The total bacteria content in the preservative was 1·1011 CFU/g. Five different variants of conservation of alfalfa haylage prepared at the budding stage were evaluated under laboratory conditions. The variants included a self-conserved control and the preservative at two different dosages (3 and 6 g/ton) with and without the addition of cellulolytic enzymes. The best results were observed in the case of both the enzyme-free and the enzyme-containing preservative at the dosage equal to 6 g/ton. These variants provided the maximum protein content in the haylage (94.3% and 94.5% of the initial content, respectively) and a high content of lactic acid (62.9% and 65.4% of the total acid content, respectively) and also good organoleptic characteristics. The determined optimum biopreservative dosage was tested under industrial conditions using 750 tons of vetch-oats-pea haylage. The use of the biopreservative provided a high-quality haylage of high nutritive value. Industrial evaluation of the effect on the productivity of milk cattle (n = 15) of the addition of the biopreservative to the haylage showed that the maximum average daily yield of milk with basic fat content (3.4%) was obtained from cows of the experimental group whose ration included haylage prepared with the use of the studied preservative. This yield came to32.7 kg , which exceeded the yield for the control group (fed on self-conserved haylage) by 7.0%. Three months feeding of cows with the haylage prepared with the use of the new preservative brought a significant saving of money (4,862 rubles per a head at the prices of 2015–2016). Исследовано влияние нового биологического консерванта, представляющего собой смесь лиофильно высушенных бактерий: Lactobacillus plantarum ВКПМ В-4173, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis ВКПМ В-2092 и Propionibacterium acidipropionici ВКПМ В-5723 (в соотношении 40 : 40 : 20) на качество сенажа из вико-овсяно-гороховой смеси. Общее содержание бактерий в консерванте составляло 1·1011 КОЕ/г. В лабораторном опыте оценены четыре варианта закладки сенажа из люцерны, приготовленного в фазе бутонизации, с нормами внесения консерванта 3 и 6 г/т в присутствии и в отсутствие ферментов. В качестве контроля использовали самоконсервированный сенаж. По результатам эксперимента наилучшие результаты обеспечивало внесение биоконсерванта в количестве 6 г/т как совместно с ферментом, так и без него. В этих вариантах отмечена высокая сохранность протеина (94,5% и 94,3% от содержания в исходной массе) и высокое содержание молочной кислоты (65,4% и 62,9% от общего содержания всех кислот), а также хорошие органолептические показатели. Указанная оптимальная норма внесения биоконсерванта протестирована в производственных испытаниях при закладке 750 тонн сенажа из вико-овсяно-гороховой смеси. Применение биоконсерванта позволило получить сенаж высокого качества, имеющий высокую энергетическую и питательную ценность. Проведены производственные испытания с оценкой эффекта скармливания сенажа, заготовленного путем самоконсервирования (контроль) и с внесением исследуемого биоконсерванта (опыт), на молочную продуктивность новотельных коров черно-пестрой породы (n = 15), качество молока и затраты кормов на единицу продукции. Среднесуточный удой молока базисной жирности (3,4%) коров опытной группы в период раздоя составил 32,7 кг, что на 7% выше по сравнению с контрольными животными, получавшими самоконсервированный сенаж. Скармливание молочным коровам в период раздоя сенажа из вико-овсяно-гороховой смеси с внесением нового биологического консерванта обеспечило экономию в размере 4 862 рубля на голову в ценах 2015–2016 года.Исследовано влияние нового биологического консерванта, представляющего собой смесь лиофильно высушенных бактерий: Lactobacillus plantarum ВКПМ В-4173, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis ВКПМ В-2092 и Propionibacterium acidipropionici ВКПМ В-5723 (в соотношении 40 : 40 : 20) на качество сенажа из вико-овсяно-гороховой смеси. Общее содержание бактерий в консерванте составляло 1·1011 КОЕ/г. В лабораторном опыте оценены четыре варианта закладки сенажа из люцерны, приготовленного в фазе бутонизации, с нормами внесения консерванта 3 и 6 г/т в присутствии и в отсутствие ферментов. В качестве контроля использовали самоконсервированный сенаж. По результатам эксперимента наилучшие результаты обеспечивало внесение биоконсерванта в количестве 6 г/т как совместно с ферментом, так и без него. В этих вариантах отмечена высокая сохранность протеина (94,5% и 94,3% от содержания в исходной массе) и высокое содержание молочной кислоты (65,4% и 62,9% от общего содержания всех кислот), а также хорошие органолептические показатели. Указанная оптимальная норма внесения биоконсерванта протестирована в производственных испытаниях при закладке 750 тонн сенажа из вико-овсяно-гороховой смеси. Применение биоконсерванта позволило получить сенаж высокого качества, имеющий высокую энергетическую и питательную ценность. Проведены производственные испытания с оценкой эффекта скармливания сенажа, заготовленного путем самоконсервирования (контроль) и с внесением исследуемого биоконсерванта (опыт), на молочную продуктивность новотельных коров черно-пестрой породы (n = 15), качество молока и затраты кормов на единицу продукции. Среднесуточный удой молока базисной жирности (3,4%) коров опытной группы в период раздоя составил 32,7 кг, что на 7% выше по сравнению с контрольными животными, получавшими самоконсервированный сенаж. Скармливание молочным коровам в период раздоя сенажа из вико-овсяно-гороховой смеси с внесением нового биологического консерванта обеспечило экономию в размере 4 862 рубля на голову в ценах 2015–2016 года

Fucoidan-degrading fungal strains: screening, morphometric evaluation, and influence of medium composition

Ten different fungal strains from the genus Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Mucor were screened for fucoidan hydrolyzing ability aiming to find microorganisms able to produce sulfated fucan-degrading enzymes. Screening was carried out by measuring the strains kinetic and morphometric behavior over plate assays using Laminaria japonica fucoidan as only carbon source, testing three nitrogen sources (urea, peptone, and sodium nitrate). The selected fungal strains were subsequently used in submerged fermentations, which were performed for (1) selection of the strains able to growth over fucoidan medium and (2) media selection, testing the synergy of fucoidan with other sugars for inducing high enzyme titles. Radial expansion and hyphae parameters were observed for Aspergillus niger PSH, Mucor sp. 3P, and Penicillium purpurogenum GH2 grown only over fucoidan-urea medium. A. niger PSH showed the maximum enzymatic activity values, which were significantly different (p<0.05) from those achieved by the other selected fungi. Sucrose addition to fucoidan media proportioned the highest fucoidanase activity values for this fungal strain. This research allowed establishing optimal conditions for metabolites synthesis by fungal stains able to act toward fucoidan ramified matrix.Mexican Science and Technology Council (CONACYT

Quantification of C1 esterase inhibitor in human serum by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay: Correlation with turbidimetric immunoassay

C1 inhibitor of serine proteases (C1-INH) performs a regulatory function in the complement system and vascular permeability. Deficiency of C1-INH leads to various forms of angioedema, including hereditary angioedema (HAE). The cause of HAE is a genetically determined violation of the synthesis of C1-INH. A decrease in the level of C1-INH to 50% relative to the norm leads to an increase in the production of bradykinin, which is the basis for the diagnosis of HAE. The development of affordable ELISA for the quantitative determination of C1-INH is a popular direction for clinicians. During the development of a new kit for quantitative determination of C1-INH, two mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAb) with different epitope specificities were obtained. On their basis, a sandwich-type ELISA was developed. The specificity of the obtained mAb's was confirmed using the medical device “Berinert”. To prepare calibrators, C1-INH was affinity purified from human blood plasma using a sorbent with immobilized mAbs. The identity of the C1-INH protein was confirmed by PAGE electrophoresis, immunoblotting, and mass spectrometry on MALDI-TOF/TOF UltrafleXtreme mass spectrometer. To assess the quality indicators of developed reagents kit, studies were carried out in accordance with GOST R 51352-2013 and TU 21.20.23-041-01967164-2022. Values of quality indicators: accuracy — 93.53%; measurement linearity interval — 22.00-176.07 ng/mL. Using the developed ELISA test system, we examined 28 blood sera from healthy donors and 7 blood sera from patients with confirmed HAE. In the same samples, the content of C1-INH was determined by turbidimetric method, using the "Diagnostic reagents for in vitro immunochemical studies of specific blood proteins. Model: C1-esterase inhibitor (C1 EsteraseInhibitor)" (Aptec, Belgium). The correlation coefficient was 0.94 (p &lt; 0.05). It was found that the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the developed ELISA is 100%. As a result of the study, an original ELISA test system for the quantitative determination of C1-INH was developed "Reagent kit for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of human C1-inhibitor (C1-inh PS)"

Lifetimes of High-Degree p Modes in the Quiet and Active Sun

We study variations of the lifetimes of high-degree solar p-modes in the quiet and active Sun with the solar activity cycle. The lifetimes in the degree range 300 - 600 and frequency 2.5 - 4.5 mHz were computed from SOHO/MDI data in an area including active regions and quiet Sun using the time-distance technique. We applied our analysis to the data in four different phases of solar activity: in 1996 (at minimum), 1998 (rising phase), 2000 (at maximum) and 2003 (declining phase). The results from the area with active regions show that the lifetime decreases as activity increases. The maximal lifetime variations are between solar minimum in 1996 and maximum in 2000; the relative variation averaged over all mode degree values and frequencies is a decrease of about 13%. The lifetime reductions relative to 1996 are about 7% in 1998 and about 10% in 2003. The lifetime computed in the quiet region still decreases with solar activity although the decrease is smaller. On average, relative to 1996, the lifetime decrease is about 4% in 1998, 10% in 2000 and 8% in 2003. Thus, measured lifetime increases when regions of high magnetic activity are avoided. Moreover, the lifetime computed in quiet regions also shows variations with activity cycle.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures; Accepted for publication in Solar Physic

Spent fuel sabotage aerosol test program :FY 2005-06 testing and aerosol data summary.

This multinational, multi-phase spent fuel sabotage test program is quantifying the aerosol particles produced when the products of a high energy density device (HEDD) interact with and explosively particulate test rodlets that contain pellets of either surrogate materials or actual spent fuel. This program has been underway for several years. This program provides source-term data that are relevant to some sabotage scenarios in relation to spent fuel transport and storage casks, and associated risk assessments. This document focuses on an updated description of the test program and test components for all work and plans made, or revised, primarily during FY 2005 and about the first two-thirds of FY 2006. It also serves as a program status report as of the end of May 2006. We provide details on the significant findings on aerosol results and observations from the recently completed Phase 2 surrogate material tests using cerium oxide ceramic pellets in test rodlets plus non-radioactive fission product dopants. Results include: respirable fractions produced; amounts, nuclide content, and produced particle size distributions and morphology; status on determination of the spent fuel ratio, SFR (the ratio of respirable particles from real spent fuel/respirables from surrogate spent fuel, measured under closely matched test conditions, in a contained test chamber); and, measurements of enhanced volatile fission product species sorption onto respirable particles. We discuss progress and results for the first three, recently performed Phase 3 tests using depleted uranium oxide, DUO{sub 2}, test rodlets. We will also review the status of preparations and the final Phase 4 tests in this program, using short rodlets containing actual spent fuel from U.S. PWR reactors, with both high- and lower-burnup fuel. These data plus testing results and design are tailored to support and guide, follow-on computer modeling of aerosol dispersal hazards and radiological consequence assessments. This spent fuel sabotage--aerosol test program, performed primarily at Sandia National Laboratories, with support provided by both the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, had significant inputs from, and is strongly supported and coordinated by both the U.S. and international program participants in Germany, France, and the U.K., as part of the international Working Group for Sabotage Concerns of Transport and Storage Casks, WGSTSC

Abel Symposia

Discrete Morse theory has recently lead to new developments in the theory of random geometric complexes. This article surveys the methods and results obtained with this new approach, and discusses some of its shortcomings. It uses simulations to illustrate the results and to form conjectures, getting numerical estimates for combinatorial, topological, and geometric properties of weighted and unweighted Delaunay mosaics, their dual Voronoi tessellations, and the Alpha and Wrap complexes contained in the mosaics