An ALMA view of CS and SiS around oxygen-rich AGB stars

We aim to determine the distributions of molecular SiS and CS in the circumstellar envelopes of oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch stars and how these distributions differ between stars that lose mass at different rates. In this study we analyse ALMA observations of SiS and CS emission lines for three oxygen-rich galactic AGB stars: IK Tau, with a moderately high mass-loss rate of $5\times10^{-6}$M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, and W Hya and R Dor with low mass loss rates of $\sim1\times10^{-7}$M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. These molecules are usually more abundant in carbon stars but the high sensitivity of ALMA allows us to detect their faint emission in the low mass-loss rate AGB stars. The high spatial resolution of ALMA also allows us to precisely determine the spatial distribution of these molecules in the circumstellar envelopes. We run radiative transfer models to calculate the molecular abundances and abundance distributions for each star. We find a spread of peak SiS abundances with $\sim10^{-8}$ for R Dor, $\sim10^{-7}$ for W Hya, and $\sim3\times10^{-6}$ for IK Tau relative to H$_2$. We find lower peak CS abundances of $\sim7\times10^{-9}$ for R Dor, $\sim7\times10^{-8}$ for W Hya and $\sim4\times10^{-7}$ for IK Tau, with some stratifications in the abundance distributions. For IK Tau we also calculate abundances for the detected isotopologues: C$^{34}$S, $^{29}$SiS, $^{30}$SiS, Si$^{33}$S, Si$^{34}$S, $^{29}$Si$^{34}$S, and $^{30}$Si$^{34}$S. Overall the isotopic ratios we derive for IK Tau suggest a lower metallicity than solar.Comment: 16 page

Отдаленные исходы реваскуляризации миокарда и мозга при помощи чрескожных коронарных вмешательств и каротидной эндартерэктомии в гибридном и поэтапном режимах

Aim To evaluate in-hospital and long-term outcomes of myocardial and cerebral revascularization with combined or staged PCI and carotid endarterectomy.Methods.263 myocardial and cerebral revascularizations with PCI and CEA in patients with combined cerebral and coronary artery lesions in the period from 2011 to 2017 were performed. Patients were divided into two groups depending on the surgical strategy. Patient (n = 133) who underwent a staged intervention (CEA and PCI) were included in Group 1, whereas patients (n = 130) who underwent a hybrid intervention (CEE+PCI CA) were included in Group 2. The mean follow-up was 3.5 years.Results.100% of patients in Group 2 underwent coronary and internal carotid revascularization according to the results of in-hospital and long-term follow-up. 81.35% of patient in Group 1 underwent PCI and CEA, whereas 3.01% of patients underwent only PCI and 6.77% of patients – CEA. 1.5% of patients in Group 1 did not receive any surgical treatment. The most common causes of incomplete revascularization were the subsequent change of the initially defined treatment for myocardial (6.02%) or cerebral revascularization (0.75%). The rest refused the second stage, or it was associated with extremely high risk and the strategy was switched to the conservative therapy.Conclusion.100% of patients received hybrid myocardial and cerebral revascularization during one hospitalization. It allowed reducing mortality from MI and stroke during the waiting period for the next stage of the treatment in Group 1 (almost 5%). Hybrid interventions can be used in patients with high risk for open-heart surgery, severe comorbidities (obesity, diabetes, renal dysfunction), significant coronary and cerebral artery lesions with high risk of MI and stroke. However, hybrid approach was associated with high rate (almost 7%) of non-fatal MI in the long-term follow-up.Цель.Оценка госпитальных и отдаленных исходов реваскуляризации головного мозга и миокарда при помощи чрескожного коронарного вмешательства (ЧКВ) и каротидной эндартерэктомии (КЭЭ) в поэтапном и гибридном режимах.Материалы и методы.С 2011 по 2017 г. выполнено 263 реваскуляризации миокарда и головного мозга с использованием ЧКВ и КЭЭ у пациентов с мультифокальным атеросклерозом с сочетанным поражением церебральных и коронарных артерий. В зависимости от выбранных стратегий лечения пациенты были разделены на две группы: 1-я группа (n = 133) – поэтапные вмешательства (КЭЭ и ЧКВ); 2-я группа (n = 130) – гибридные вмешательства (КЭЭ + ЧКВ). Средний период наблюдения составил 3,5 года.Результаты.В группе гибридных операций реваскуляризация двух сосудистых бассейнов (коронарных и внутренних сонных артерий) выполнена в 100% случаев. В группе поэтапной тактики полный объем запланированной реваскуляризации получили лишь 81,35% пациентов, тогда как в 3,01% случаев выполнено только ЧКВ, в 6,77% случаев – только КЭЭ, а в 1,5% – не выполнен ни один этап реваскуляризации. Самыми распространенными причинами неполной реваскуляризации явились изменение тактики реваскуляризации миокарда (6,02%) или головного мозга (0,75%), в оставшихся случаях пациенты не являлись на второй этап лечения по субъективным причинам или его выполнение было сопряжено с крайне высоким риском, в связи с чем тактика была пересмотрена в пользу консервативной терапии.Заключение.Гибридные вмешательства продемонстрировали 100% доступность реваскуляризации миокарда и головного мозга в течение одной госпитализации, что значительно сокращало летальность пациентов от инфаркта миокарда и острого нарушения мозгового кровообращения в период ожидания следующего этапа лечения при поэтапной стратегии (почти на 5%). Гибридные вмешательства могут применяться у пациентов с высоким риском «открытых» операций на сердце, тяжелой сопутствующей патологией (ожирением, сахарным диабетом, нарушением функции почек), значимым поражением коронарных и церебральный артерий с высоким риском инфаркта миокарда и острого нарушения мозгового кровообращения. Недостатком гибридной стратегии явилась более высокая частота (почти на 7%) нефатального инфаркта миокарда в отдаленном периоде наблюдения

SYNTHESIS OF NONSTOCHIOMETRIC NANO-NBC AND ITS ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCE

This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (RNF grant No. 19-73-20012)

Armenia and Belarus: caught between the EU's and Russia's conditionalities?

This article looks into Armenia's and Belarus’ engagement with the European Union's (EU) and Russia's conditionalities, the two EU Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries that are also members of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). While paying attention to political, economic (including energy and technical) as well as security dimensions of the EU's and Russia's approaches, as proposed in the present special section, the article demonstrates that the conditionalities extended by the EU and Russia to the two countries in question have differed. In their turn, Armenia and Belarus have reacted differently to Russia's and the EU's conditionalities. Against the backdrop of the changing significance ascribed to both the EU's and Russia's policies towards their common neighbourhood since the 1990s, the present contribution identifies and analyses factors that account for the diverging positions of Armenia and Belarus, including the type of regime, the geopolitical considerations, the stakes in the economic and energy spheres and the predisposition to integration. The article shows that in the resulting complex context, Armenia and Belarus have been able to influence the shape and content of the EU's and Russia's conditionalities, although in a different way and to a different extent.Ministry of Education and Science (UID/CPO/ 00758/2013

Compulsory reduced working time in Belarus: Incidence, operation and consequences

This article examines compulsory reduced working time (CRWT) in five Belarusian factories, to assess its impact on employment relationships and evaluate arguments about ‘Soviet legacies’ and labour ‘patience’. Local use of CRWT increased between 2001 and 2012, and took a form more inimical to worker interests, thereby differing from official macro statistics. Managers expressed discontent at being pushed by state policy to use CRWT, but used it as a disciplinary tool. Workers perceived worsening work relationships and threats of collective response were in evidence. Arguments about ‘Soviet legacies’ and labour’s ‘patience’ therefore currently appear inappropriate

Long-term changes in drought indices in eastern and central Europe

This study analyses long-term changes in drought indices (Standardised Precipitation Index—SPI, Standardised Precipitation–Evapotranspiration Index—SPEI) at 1 and 3 months scales at 182 stations in 11 central and eastern European countries during 1949–2018. For comparative purposes, the necessary atmospheric evaporative demand (AED) to obtain SPEI was calculated using two methods, Hargreaves-Samani (SPEIH) and Penman-Monteith (SPEIP). The results show some relevant changes and tendencies in the drought indices. Statistically significant increase in SPI and SPEI during the cold season (November–March), reflecting precipitation increase, was found in the northern part of the study region, in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, northern Belarus and northern Poland. In the rest of study domain, a weak and mostly insignificant decrease prevailed in winter. Summer season (June–August) is characterized by changes in the opposite sign. An increase was observed in the north, while a clear decrease in SPEI, reflecting a drying trend, was typical for the southern regions: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and southern Poland. A general drying tendency revealed also in April, which was statistically significant over a wide area in the Czech Republic and Poland. Increasing trends in SPI and SPEI for September and October were detected in Romania, Moldova and Hungary. The use of SPEI instead of SPI generally enhances drying trends

The ALMA detection of CO rotational line emission in AGB stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Context. Low- and intermediate-mass stars lose most of their stellar mass at the end of their lives on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). Determining gas and dust mass-loss rates (MLRs) is important in quantifying the contribution of evolved stars to the enrichment of the interstellar medium. Aims: This study attempts to spectrally resolve CO thermal line emission in a small sample of AGB stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Methods: The Atacama Large Millimeter Array was used to observe two OH/IR stars and four carbon stars in the LMC in the CO J = 2-1 line. Results: We present the first measurement of expansion velocities in extragalactic carbon stars. All four C stars are detected and wind expansion velocities and stellar velocities are directly measured. Mass-loss rates are derived from modelling the spectral energy distribution and Spitzer/IRS spectrum with the DUSTY code. The derived gas-to-dust ratios allow the predicted velocities to agree with the observed gas-to-dust ratios. The expansion velocities and MLRs are compared to a Galactic sample of well-studied relatively low MLRs stars supplemented with extreme C stars with properties that are more similar to the LMC targets. Gas MLRs derived from a simple formula are significantly smaller than those derived from dust modelling, indicating an order of magnitude underestimate of the estimated CO abundance, time-variable mass loss, or that the CO intensities in LMC stars are lower than predicted by the formula derived for Galactic objects. This could be related to a stronger interstellar radiation field in the LMC. Conclusions: Although the LMC sample is small and the comparison to Galactic stars is non-trivial because of uncertainties in their distances (hence luminosities), it appears that for C stars the wind expansion velocities in the LMC are lower than in the solar neighbourhood, while the MLRs appear to be similar. This is in agreement with dynamical dust-driven wind models

Современные и ожидаемые гидроклиматические изменения в бассейнах Балтийского и Арктических морей в пределах территорий Беларуси и России

 The article presents an assessment of current changes in air temperature, precipitation, snow and river runoff in the Baltic and Arctic Seas basins in the territories of Belarus and Russia. It is shown that the observed positive air temperature trends during the winter season are associated with the sea level pressure distribution in the North Atlantic and NAO indices. In summer, the temperature growth is correlated strongly with the Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation. Changes in the precipitation regime are synchronized with an increase in the sea level pressure in the baroclinic active zones of the Atlantic Ocean, which led to the precipitation increase in Europe since the second half of the 20th century. Interdecadal precipitation fluctuations in the study region are associated with the dynamics of the circumpolar vortex and Arctic oscillation (AO) indices. In winter, a precipitation increase is observed in the negative AO phase and is caused by an increase in the frequency of southern cyclones. In summer, when the AO phase is negative, the cyclonic activity decreases, and the precipitation growth is associated with convective processes in the atmosphere. Snow precipitation and snow water equivalent are decreasing during recent decades due the air temperature significant growth. That led to the spring floods height decreasing in the region. In the next 30 years, a decrease in the winter air temperature in the Baltic Sea basin and its increase in the Arctic Sea are expected. In summer, the air temperature increase will slow down on the descending AMO branch in the coming decades. In the precipitation regime, the growth of seasonal and daily total precipitation is expected.В работе представлена оценка современных изменений температуры воздуха, осадков, снега и речного стока на территории бассейнов Балтийского и Арктических морей в пределах территорий Беларуси и России. Показано, что наблюдаемые положительные тренды температуры воздуха зимой связаны с распределением давления в Северной Атлантике и индексами Северо-Атлантического колебания, летом – с Атлантической мультидекадной осцилляцией. Изменения в режиме увлажнения синхронизированы с повышением давления в бароклинно-активных зонах Атлантики и ростом осадков в Европе с ХХ в. Междекадные колебания осадков в регионе связаны с динамикой циркумполярного вихря и индексами Арктической осцилляции (АО). Повышение осадков зимой наблюдается в отрицательную фазу АО и обусловлено увеличением повторяемости южных циклонов. Летом при отрицательной фазе АО отмечается снижение циклонической активности, рост осадков связан с конвективными процессами. На фоне роста температуры воздуха снижаются запасы воды в снеге, которые формируют весенние половодья в регионе, их высота значительно уменьшилась в последние десятилетия. В ближайшие 30 лет ожидается снижение температуры воздуха зимой в Балтийском бассейне и увеличение в Арктическом. Летом повышение температуры воздуха замедлится на нисходящей ветви Атлантической мультидекадной осцилляции в ближайшие десятилетия. В режиме увлажнения прогнозируется увеличение сезонных и суточных сумм осадков

АОРТИТ-НЕМОЕ ПРОЯВЛЕНИЕ, СЕРЬЕЗНЫЕ ПОСЛЕДСТВИЯ

The article presents a clinical case of delayed diagnosis of extra-articular manifestations of ankylosing spondylitis and aortitis. 15 years after the onset of symptoms, this diagnosis was established when the irreversible joint damage and cardiovascular complications were present, namely extra-articular manufestatations of aortitis, i.e. ascending aortic extension and the total aortic insufficiency. This clinical case presents a successful surgical treatment of acquired aortic valve disease. The patient underwent the Bentall-de Bono procedure, including aortic valve replacement and plasty of the ascending aorta with a valved conduit “MedEng-23” (MedEng, Russia). Moreover, the current article highlights the problem of selecting optimal medical therapy (therapy for ankylosing spondylitis and anticoagulants) due to ad-verse drug interactions. The reasons for delayed diagnosis were analyzed. Unfortunately, the main reasons are subjec-tive, i.e. general physicians (non-rheumatologists) do not know well clinical signs and symptoms of this disease as well as imaging findings suggesting this diagnosis.В статье представлен клинический случай, де-монстрирующий запоздалую постановку диагноза: анкилозирующий спондилит с внескелетным про-явлением аортит. Данный диагноз был установлен спустя 15 лет от начала появления симптомов забо-левания и уже на стадии необратимых изменений как со стороны суставной системы, так и со стороны сердечно-сосудистой системы, когда проявилась клиника осложнения внескелетного поражения аортита, в виде расширения восходящего отдела аорты и тотальной аортальной недостаточности. В представленном клиническом примере проде-монстрировано успешное хирургическое лечение развившегося порока сердца протезирование аортального клапана и восходящего отдела аорты клапан содержащим кондуитом «Мединж-23»( ЗАО НПП «МедИнж»,Россия) (операция Бенталла-де Боно) и возникшие сложности в подборе медикаментозных препаратов (базисной терапии анкилозирующего спондилита и антикоагулянтов) вследствие неблагоприятного лекарственного взаимодействия. Проанализированы причины поздней постановки диагноза и основные из них, к сожалению, субъек-тивные незнание врачами других специальностей - «не ревматологов» клиники, рентгенодиагностики данного заболевания

(Sub)stellar companions shape the winds of evolved stars

Binary interactions dominate the evolution of massive stars, but their role is less clear for low- and intermediate-mass stars. The evolution of a spherical wind from an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star into a nonspherical planetary nebula (PN) could be due to binary interactions. We observed a sample of AGB stars with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and found that their winds exhibit distinct nonspherical geometries with morphological similarities to planetary nebulae (PNe). We infer that the same physics shapes both AGB winds and PNe; additionally, the morphology and AGB mass-loss rate are correlated. These characteristics can be explained by binary interaction. We propose an evolutionary scenario for AGB morphologies that is consistent with observed phenomena in AGB stars and PNe