Evolution of forest pedogenesis in the south of the forest-steppe of the Central Russian Upland in the Late Holocene

The Late Holocene stage of forest pedogenesis has been studied on the interfluves along river valleys in the forest-steppe zone of the Central Russian Upland. The development of gray forest soils from the former chernozems as a result of the Late Holocene advance of forest vegetation over steppes is discusse

Results of the federal program of development of vocational education in the Sverdlovsk region in the area «Presonnel training for defense-industrial sector»

В статье представлены результаты реализации Федеральной целевой программы «подготовка кадров для оборонно-промышленного комплекса» в Свердловской области за два года. Приведены результаты маркетинговых исследований, показана модернизация материально-технической базы, методического оснащения учебного процесса, представлены результаты государственной итоговой аттестации, трудоустройство выпускников.The article presents the results of the implementation of the federal target-oriented program "Personnel training for the defense-industrial sector" in the Sverdlovsk region for two years. The results of market investigations are shown; the results of the State Final Examination, the modernization of material-technical base and employment of graduates are also described

Assessment of the Macro-and Microelement Composition of Fly Ash from 50-Year-Old Ash Dumps in the Middle Urals (Russia)

The paper considers the macro-and micro-element composition of two ash dumps in the Middle Urals, where meadow and forest communities have been spontaneously forming for 50 years, as well as the effect of the plants on the changing composition of the ash. Higher contents of Cu, Co, Sn, Ga, and Yb were found in the deep ash layers of both dumps, while in the upper 20-cm layer, the trace element composition depended on the influence of different plant communities. Higher contents of Sr, Cr, Ni, Sn, and Co were revealed under meadows, and Ba, Zr, and La were found under the forest. The levels of element accumulation in the aboveground and underground parts of dominant plants were revealed. Increased content of Be, Ce, Ga, La, Sc, Y, and Yb was detected in areas where meadow plants were dominant and Zn and Ba in forest areas. The toxic elements Cd and Pb were highly accumulated in both communities, whereas Co was found only in meadows. The studied materials can serve as a base to assess the feasibility of processing and/or utilizing fly ash from ash dumps in the Middle Urals and similar ash dumps in other regions situated in the southern taiga. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Funding: This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation [project number 121031700309-1 in ISSA SB RAS and project number FEUZ-2021-0014 in URFU]

Natural Forest Colonisation and Soil Formation on Ash Dump in Southern Taiga

Ash dumps occupy significant areas around the world and make a negative influence on the environment. This effect is decreased by their natural colonisation determined by the bioclimatic conditions of the area. The purpose of the current study was to identify the structure of the forest communities and the initial stages of soil formation on the ash dump in southern taiga. This study was carried out on three sites in the forest phytocoenosis formed in the process of revegetation of the Verkhniy Tagil Power Station ash dump over 50 years, as well as on two background forest sites in the Middle Urals. Complex geobotanical and soil studies were carried out. The results of the study show that forest phytocoenoses with a predominance of hardwood species (Betula pendula Roth and Populus tremula L.) and a small admixture of coniferous species can form on the non-recultivated ash dump within 50 years in a boreal zone. In total, the studied mixed forest phytocoenoses are similar in composition to zonal secondary forests, but differ by having lower height and diameter of the stand, as well as herb–shrub layer coverage. Their species density and floristic richness are also lesser. The study proved that the process of soil formation is also proceeding according to the zonal type in the ash substrate under forest communities. The results of the study can be applied to justifying the forecasts of ecosystem restoration on the technogenic substrate, as well as for the species selecting for their recultivation in the studied area and similar to it. © 2020 by the Committee on Forestry Sciences and Wood Technology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Forest Research Institute in S´kocin Stary

New way of laparoscopic intracorporeal term-terminal invagination ileotransverse anastomosis

Background. Laparoscopic surgery becomes a standard treatment for many surgical diseases. Defects of a stapler laparoscopic mechanical suture during the formation of an anastomosis after hemicolectomy are detected in 18% of observed cases.Objective. Development, substantiate reproducibility and safety of a manual intracorporeal term-terminal invagination ileotransverse anastomosis method after performing the right laparoscopic hemicolectomy.Material and Methods. Authors presented a description of the technique and their own experience of performing laparoscopic hemicolectomy on the right with the formation of a manual original anastomosis in 10 patients with pathology of the right half of the colon. Eight patients (80.0%) had a malignant tumor of the right half of the colon, 1 patient (10.0%) showed multiple polyps of the cecum and the ascending part of the colon, 1 patient (10.0%) developed a cystic-solid submucosa tumor of the ileocecal angle. One patient had metastatic lung disease at the time of establishing diagnosis. The postoperative follow-up period was 7–18 months.Results. There were no conversions to open surgery. All operations (n = 10) were ended completely laparoscopically – right hemicolectomy with standard D2 lymph node dissection. In one patient, we revealed intraoperatively the spread of the tumor to the gallbladder, which required additional cholecystectomy. The duration of the operation was 122.5 ± 10.7 min.; median blood loss was 107 ± 5.2 ml. At the time of follow-up all patients are alive.Conclusion. The technique is universal in the surgical treatment of patients with various pathologies of the right half of the colon

The impact of micronutrients on athletes’ vision: a retrospective analysis of revalent articles

The eyes, like other human organs, are deficient in nutrients during over-training, which can affect visual acuity and, accordingly, the quality of training.This article defines the importance of the organ of vision for sports results. It also provides an overview of the latest scientific research on the impact of biologically significant micronutrients on the functions of the visual analyzer with examples of products that help improve visual functions

Fabrication of CdS/CdTe-based thin film solar cells using an electrochemical technique

Thin film solar cells based on cadmium telluride (CdTe) are complex devices which have great potential for achieving high conversion efficiencies. Lack of understanding in materials issues and device physics slows down the rapid progress of these devices. This paper combines relevant results from the literature with new results from a research programme based on electro-plated CdS and CdTe. A wide range of analytical techniques was used to investigate the materials and device structures. It has been experimentally found that n-, i- and p-type CdTe can be grown easily by electroplating. These material layers consist of nano- and micro-rod type or columnar type grains, growing normal to the substrate. Stoichiometric materials exhibit the highest crystallinity and resistivity, and layers grown closer to these conditions show n - p or p - n conversion upon heat treatment. The general trend of CdCl2 treatment is to gradually change the CdTe material’s n-type electrical property towards i-type or p-type conduction. This work also identifies a rapid structural transition of CdTe layer at 385 ± 5 °C and a slow structural transition at higher temperatures when annealed or grown at high temperature. The second transition occurs after 430 °C and requires more work to understand this gradual transition. This work also identifies the existence of two different solar cell configurations for CdS/CdTe which creates a complex situation. Finally, the paper presents the way forward with next generation CdTe-based solar cells utilising low-cost materials in their columnar nature in graded bandgap structures. These devices could absorb UV, visible and IR radiation from the solar spectrum and combine impact ionisation and impurity photovoltaic (PV) effect as well as making use of IR photons from the surroundings when fully optimised

Electrodeposition and characterisation of CdS thin films using thiourea precursor for application in solar cells

CdS thin films have been successfully electrodeposited on glass/FTO substrates using acidic and aqueous solution of CdCl2.xH2O and thiourea (SC(NH2)2). The electrodeposition of CdS thin films were carried out potentiostatically using a 2-electrode system. The prepared films were characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell measurements, Electrical resistivity measurements and UV-Vis spectrophotometry to study their structural, compositional, morphological, electrical and optical properties, respectively. The structural studies show that the as-deposited and annealed CdS layers are polycrystalline with hexagonal crystal structure and preferentially oriented along (200) planes. The optical studies indicate that the ED-CdS layers have direct bandgaps in the range (2.53-2.58) eV for the as-deposited and (2.42-2.48) eV after annealing at 400oC for 20 minutes in air. The morphological studies show the good coverage of the FTO surface by the CdS grains. The average grain sizes for the as-deposited and annealed layers were in the range (60-225) nm. These grains or clusters are made out of smaller nano crystallites with the sizes in the range ~(11-33) nm. The electrical resistivity shows reduction as thickness increases. The resistivity values for the as-deposited and annealed layers were in the range (0.82-4.92)×105 Ωcm. The optimum growth voltage for the CdS thin films was found to be at the cathodic potential of 797 mV with respect to the graphite anode. No visible precipitations of elemental S or CdS particles were observed in the deposition electrolyte showing a stable bath using thiourea during the growth