Effect of working gas pressure on interlayer mixing in magnetron-deposited Mo/Si multilayers

By methods of cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and small-angle x-ray scattering (λ = 0.154 nm) the influence of Ar gas pressure (1 to 4 mTorr) on the growth of amorphous interfaces in Mo/Si multilayers (MLs) deposited by DC magnetron sputtering is studied. The significant reduction in the ML period, which is evident as a volumetric contraction, is observed in MLs deposited at Ar pressure where the mean-free path for the sputtered atoms is comparable with the magnetronsubstrate distance. Some reduction in the thickness of the amorphous interlayers with Ar pressure increase is found, where the composition of the interlayers is enriched with molybdenum. The interface modification resulted in an increase in EUV reflectance of the Mo/Si ML

Bone Regeneration in the Application of a New Device for Osteosynthesis in the Experiment

Background. Treatment of residual cavities after radical surgery for bone diseases is a vital problem of modern traumatology. Currently, there is an active search for devices both for osteosynthesis and bone-substituting masses. Aims. The purpose of this work was to test a new device for osteosynthesis. It can be used both for fixing bone fragments, and for studying the morphological features of bone regenerate in experiment.Materials and methods. A device for bone osteosynthesis of tubular bones in an experiment (Patent of the Russian Federation N 20116121487) was applied. The device consisted of two half-bushings, fastened to each other by a fierce clamp. Polypropylene was used as the material for the half-bushings, therefore no immunological reactions were observed. On the inner surface there were silicone cylinders, which directed pressure on the fragments and did not disturb the nutrition of the periosteum. The experiment was performed on Wistar rats. The surgical defect of the femur was filled with hydroxyapatite. Two groups of animals were identified. The bone in the first group was fixed by the device. The wire cerclage was used in the second group.Results. The study showed that the developed device does not disturb the nutrition of the periosteum, and also tightly fixes the osteoplastic material in the bone defect. Histological examination showed that bone regeneration was faster when the device was used. On the 21st day of the experiment, the regenerate filled the defect in the control group by 62 %, and in the experimental group by 73 %. The regenerate was represented by a woven bone. In all animals, bone regenerate formed a strong osteo-integrative connection with the maternal bone. In both groups, it looked like a mature bone tissue at the end of the experiment (28 days).Conclusion. The data indicate that the device does not disturb the processes of bone formation and allows for more efficient use osteoplastic material

De novo sequencing and characterization of floral transcriptome in two species of buckwheat (Fagopyrum)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Transcriptome sequencing data has become an integral component of modern genetics, genomics and evolutionary biology. However, despite advances in the technologies of DNA sequencing, such data are lacking for many groups of living organisms, in particular, many plant taxa. We present here the results of transcriptome sequencing for two closely related plant species. These species, <it>Fagopyrum esculentum </it>and <it>F. tataricum</it>, belong to the order Caryophyllales - a large group of flowering plants with uncertain evolutionary relationships. <it>F. esculentum </it>(common buckwheat) is also an important food crop. Despite these practical and evolutionary considerations <it>Fagopyrum </it>species have not been the subject of large-scale sequencing projects.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Normalized cDNA corresponding to genes expressed in flowers and inflorescences of <it>F. esculentum </it>and <it>F. tataricum </it>was sequenced using the 454 pyrosequencing technology. This resulted in 267 (for <it>F. esculentum</it>) and 229 (<it>F. tataricum</it>) thousands of reads with average length of 341-349 nucleotides. <it>De novo </it>assembly of the reads produced about 25 thousands of contigs for each species, with 7.5-8.2× coverage. Comparative analysis of two transcriptomes demonstrated their overall similarity but also revealed genes that are presumably differentially expressed. Among them are retrotransposon genes and genes involved in sugar biosynthesis and metabolism. Thirteen single-copy genes were used for phylogenetic analysis; the resulting trees are largely consistent with those inferred from multigenic plastid datasets. The sister relationships of the Caryophyllales and asterids now gained high support from nuclear gene sequences.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>454 transcriptome sequencing and <it>de novo </it>assembly was performed for two congeneric flowering plant species, <it>F. esculentum </it>and <it>F. tataricum</it>. As a result, a large set of cDNA sequences that represent orthologs of known plant genes as well as potential new genes was generated.</p

Influence of technology of growing on yield and oil chemical composition of linseed in Non-chernozem zone of Russia

The influence of the level of mineral nutrition and rate of seed sowing on yield and fatty acid composition of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) in the Non-chernozem zone of Russia was studied. It was shown that the level of mineral fertilizers N - 90, P2O5 - 60, and K2O - 60 kg/ha under the rate of sowing of 8 million seeds/ha provided maximum seed yield of 1.94 t/ha. A clear correlation between oil content and rate of sowing has not been established. Under an increasing level of mineral nutrition, oil content was slightly increased. The composition of oil was slightly changed under the influence of the studied factors

AGROECOLOGICAL EFFICIENCY OF SEWAGE SLUDGE AND VERMICOMPOST IN AGROCENOSES OF CULTIVATED OAT

Aim. The article suggests research on biotransformation of sewage sludge from treatment facilities in the city of Ryazan into organomineral fertilizer. An ecological analysis of the efficiency of fertilizer use in oat cultivation is proposed. Methods. Determination of growth and development indices of plants, structure of the oats crop of the Skakun variety, agrochemical indices of the soil. Results. Analyzed the effect of sewage sludge and vermicomposts, which are the basis for the cultivation of oats (Avena sativa) on organic soils (peat-mineral soil) which forms favorable conditions for the development of plants and the formation of high productivity of the crop, ensuring the production of ecologically safe grain products. Conclusion. The effect of the dehydrated sewage sludge and vermicomposts from the biological treatment plant in the city of Ryazan on the productivity of the Skakun oat has been revealed. The use of sewage sludge and vermicomposts is marked by an increase in the elements of the crop structure of the grain crop, as a consequence, by an increase in the bioproductivity of the phytocenosis, which indicates the advisability of using sewage sludge as a fertilizer

Development of an ultra-high resolution diffraction grating for soft x-rays

Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS) is the one of the most powerful methods for investigation of the electronic structure of materials, specifically of excitations in correlated electron systems. However the potential of the RIXS technique has not been fully exploited because conventional grating spectrometers have not been capable of achieving the extreme resolving powers that RIXS can utilize. State of the art spectrometers in the soft x-ray energy range achieve ~;0.25 eV resolution, compared to the energy scales of soft excitations and superconducting gap openings down to a few meV. Development of diffraction gratings with super high resolving power is necessary to solve this problem. In this paper we study the possibilities of fabrication of gratings of resolving power of up to 106 for the 0.5 1.5 KeV energy range. This energy range corresponds to all or most of the useful dipole transitions for elements of interest in most correlated electronic systems, i.e., oxygen K-edge of relevance to all oxides, the transition metal L2,3 edges, and the M4,5 edges of the rare earths. Various approaches based on different kinds of diffraction gratings such as deep-etched multilayer gratings, and multilayer coated echelettes are discussed. We also present simulations of diffraction efficiency for such gratings, and investigate the necessary fabrication tolerances

Stereoselective Alkane Oxidation with meta-Chloroperoxybenzoic Acid (MCPBA) Catalyzed by Organometallic Cobalt Complexes

Cobalt pi-complexes, previously described in the literature and specially synthesized and characterized in this work, were used as catalysts in homogeneous oxidation of organic compounds with peroxides. These complexes contain pi-butadienyl and pi-cyclopentadienyl ligands: [(tetramethylcyclobutadiene)(benzene)cobalt] hexafluorophosphate, [(C4Me4)Co(C6H6)]PF6 (1); diiodo(carbonyl)(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)cobalt, Cp*Co(CO)I2 (2); diiodo(carbonyl)(cyclopentadienyl)cobalt, CpCo(CO)I2 (3); (tetramethylcyclobutadiene)(dicarbonyl)(iodo)cobalt, (C4Me4)Co(CO)2I (4); [(tetramethylcyclobutadiene)(acetonitrile)(2,2′-bipyridyl)cobalt] hexafluorophosphate, [(C4Me4)Co(bipy)(MeCN)]PF6 (5); bis[dicarbonyl(B-cyclohexylborole)]cobalt, [(C4H4BCy)Co(CO)2]2 (6); [(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)(iodo)(1,10-phenanthroline)cobalt] hexafluorophosphate, [Cp*Co(phen)I]PF6 (7); diiodo(cyclopentadienyl)cobalt, [CpCoI2]2 (8); [(cyclopentadienyl)(iodo)(2,2′-bipyridyl)cobalt] hexafluorophosphate, [CpCo(bipy)I]PF6 (9); and [(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)(iodo)(2,2′-bipyridyl)cobalt] hexafluorophosphate, [Cp*Co(bipy)I]PF6 (10). Complexes 1 and 2 catalyze very efficient and stereoselective oxygenation of tertiary C–H bonds in isomeric dimethylcyclohexanes with MCBA: cyclohexanols are produced in 39 and 53% yields and with the trans/cis ratio (of isomers with mutual trans- or cis-configuration of two methyl groups) 0.05 and 0.06, respectively. Addition of nitric acid as co-catalyst dramatically enhances both the yield of oxygenates and stereoselectivity parameter. In contrast to compounds 1 and 2, complexes 9 and 10 turned out to be very poor catalysts (the yields of oxygenates in the reaction with cis-1,2-dimethylcyclohexane were only 5%–7% and trans/cis ratio 0.8 indicated that the oxidation is not stereoselective). The chromatograms of the reaction mixture obtained before and after reduction with PPh3 are very similar, which testifies that alkyl hydroperoxides are not formed in this oxidation. It can be thus concluded that the interaction of the alkanes with MCPBA occurs without the formation of free radicals. The complexes catalyze oxidation of alcohols with tert-butylhydroperoxide (TBHP). For example, tert-BuOOH efficiently oxidizes 1-phenylethanol to acetophenone in 98% yield if compound 1 is used as a catalyst

Draft genome sequences of Hirudo medicinalis and salivary transcriptome of three closely related medicinal leeches

Background Salivary cell secretion (SCS) plays a critical role in blood feeding by medicinal leeches, making them of use for certain medical purposes even today. Results We annotated the Hirudo medicinalis genome and performed RNA-seq on salivary cells isolated from three closely related leech species, H. medicinalis, Hirudo orientalis, and Hirudo verbana. Differential expression analysis verified by proteomics identified salivary cell-specific gene expression, many of which encode previously unknown salivary components. However, the genes encoding known anticoagulants have been found to be expressed not only in salivary cells. The function-related analysis of the unique salivary cell genes enabled an update of the concept of interactions between salivary proteins and components of haemostasis. Conclusions Here we report a genome draft of Hirudo medicinalis and describe identification of novel salivary proteins and new homologs of genes encoding known anticoagulants in transcriptomes of three medicinal leech species. Our data provide new insights in genetics of blood-feeding lifestyle in leeches.Correction in: BMC GENOMICS, Volume: 21, Issue: 1, Article Number: 503, DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-06897-0</p

"Flora of Russia" on iNaturalist: a dataset

The "Flora of Russia" project on iNaturalist brought together professional scientists and amateur naturalists from all over the country. Over 10,000 people are involved in the data collection.Within 20 months the participants accumulated over 750,000 photo observations of 6,853 species of the Russian flora. This constitutes the largest dataset of open spatial data on the country’s biodiversity and a leading source of data on the current state of the national flora. About 85% of all project data are available under free licenses (CC0, CC-BY, CC-BY-NC) and can be freely used in scientific, educational and environmental activities