Peculiarities of neutron waveguides with thin Gd layer

Peculiarities of the formation of a neutron enhanced standing wave in the structure with a thin highly absorbing layer of gadolinium are considered in the article. An analogue of the poisoning effect well known in reactor physics was found. The effect is stronger for the Nb/Gd/Nb system. Despite of this effect, for a Nb/Gd bilayer and a Nb/Gd/Nb trilayer placed between Al2O3 substrate and Cu layer, it is shown theoretically and experimentally that one order of magnitude enhancement of neutron density is possible in the vicinity of the Gd layer. This enhancement makes it possible to study domain formation in the Gd layer under transition of the Nb layer(s) into the superconducting state (cryptoferromagnetic phase).Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

The role of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer

Introduction. The problem of improving early diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer remains one of the most actual for current oncological practice. Taking into account a close correlation between the general prevalence of breast neoplasms and mortality from breast cancer, this problem is not only of professional interest, but also has medical-social and socio-economic significance. The purpose of the study is to improve the quality of the sentinel lymph node detection in patients with breast cancer using ICG. Material and methods. At the period 2009–2016, 400 patients with T1-T3N0M0 breast cancer were operated on. All the patients were divided into two groups using two dyes – Patent Blue and ICG. The patients after mastectomy with a sentinel lymph node biopsy had a clinical diagnosis of T2-T3N0M0 breast cancer more often. In group I, 100 patients had the sentinel lymph node biopsy. Lymph node staining was performed using Patent Blue dye. In group II, sentinel lymph nodes biopsy was conducted with the Patent Blue dye and another fluorescent dye — ICG, which was also injected on the affected side of the breast. After ICG dye introduction, in 15 minutes the stained green lymph nodes were detected using special equipment. Criteria for inclusion of patients in the clinical trial: 1) breast cancer patients of any age with T1-3N0M0, I-II AB disease stage; 2) patients with clinically unaffected lymph nodes N0 after examination. Criteria for exclusion of patients from the clinical trial: The exceptions were T3-T4 tumors > 5 cm in diameter, or the skin and chest wall invasion, as well as palpable axillary lymph nodes, 3 or more affected lymph nodes with sentinel lymph node biopsy; 3) patients after radiation therapy. Results. The tumor histology was performed after the node trephine biopsy. The main aims of sentinel nodes detection were staging and improving the breast cancer patients’ life quality after surgical treatment. The post-mastectomy syndrome, the main manifestation of which is swelling of the upper extremity is a big problem for patients because it affects their life quality and disturbs their usual lifestyle. The sentinel lymph node detection, in contrast to axillary lymph node dissection of I-II level, significantly minimizes all the risks of postmastectomy syndrome, in particular, impaired lymphatic drainage in the form of lymphatic edema of the upper extremity, impaired venous outflow in the form of stenoses or the axillary and/or subclavian veins occlusion, rough scars which limit the function of the extremity in the shoulder joint, and brachioplexitis. Conclusions. The study of sentinel lymph nodes significantly improves the results of surgical treatment of breast cancer patients. Based on the clinical-laboratory and histological examinations, new data were obtained concerning the sentinel lymph node detection using two dyes, the choice of the surgical intervention volume and reduction of complications rate at the postoperative period. We found that fluorescent lymphography is highly effective, which allows to recommend it for implementation into the clinical practice. The frequency of sentinel lymph node detection in breast cancer patients is 98% in the control group, 100% – in the main group. On the basis of the obtained results, the sentinel lymph node detection algorithm and the surgical management of patients with breast cancer was developed and implemented into practice, which allowed to reduce the number of complications with using two dyes for the sentinel lymph node detection from 19% to 2% (χ2 =15.37, p<0.001). Recurrence of breast cancer fell from 13% to 8%

Internationalization of Higher Education in Russia: in Search for Development

The aim of the article is to identify ways and conditions for internationalization development in Russia. The author shows from the neo-institutional approach point of view that Western internationalization strategies are implemented under conditions of the formed university identity as an entrepreneurial one with strong institutional support. At the present moment, in Russia new university’s identity is still the forming, such a system of education at the institutional level is absent. It was also noted, that internationalization in the West was initially used as a tool to improve the quality of education that perspectively contributed to higher school competitiveness under conditions of mass-market orientation. While in Russia university’s competitiveness is a condition for successful internationalization. At the present formal changes in the education system, informal limitations create a conflict for the university identities. The university is still not perceived as a sovereign economic entity. The market capacity factor is poorly taken into account. The entrepreneurial component of higher education institution does not act as its competitive advantage at this stage, and in the global dimension its significant lag is observed. Important conditions for the successful development of internationalization are: a differentiated approach to universities in the implementation of internationalization strategies, the relative autonomy of the university, the elimination of the gap between the goals of internationalization and state mechanisms aimed at their implementation, as well as the conditions for developing internal internationalization, the interested joint activity of all subjects of the scientific and educational process and the private sector of the economy, the elimination of the gap among the developed mechanisms for increasing the competitiveness of the university through the commercialization of projects and the underdevelopment of public private partnership (PPP) forms in the higher education system, improving approaches to organizing the scientific and educational activities of the university

Формирование идентичности современного университета в логике неоинституциональной концепции Д. Норта

Introduction. The change in the general concept of university development in Russia in the context of the University 3.0 model allowed us to consider the university as an independent economic agent on the market. This allowed to apply neo-institutional approach of Douglass C. North.Purpose setting. The process of shaping a new identity of higher education is determined by the ongoing institutional renewal. The article is devoted to identifying and analyzing the conditions that determine the formation of a new university identity in the logic of D. North’s neo-institutional concept.Methodology of the study. The appeal to the neo-institutional approach arose in connection with the need to trace and assess the changes that have occurred and will occur to the university in the context of interaction with society, government and business, as well as to identify the set of conditions that will contribute to the formation of a new identity of the university. The concepts of formal and informal constraints, which determine the possible institutional changes, were considered as methodological concepts of D. North’s theory.Results. An important condition for the functioning of an institution is a set of formal and informal attitudes, to which we respectively refer laws/codes, on the one hand, traditions and customs on the other. These concepts are closely related to the concepts of ideology and the market, which also influence changes in the system of restrictions. According to D. North, institutional changes are possible when formal and informal frameworks are updated. The article shows that with formal changes brought from above, the image of classical university as a social institution is still preserved, the market is also not ready to perceive the university as an independent economic agent, as one of the stakeholders of entrepreneurial and innovative activity.Conclusions. The problem of contradiction between the preferences of subjects of educational, entrepreneurial and innovative activity becomes obvious. Serious restraining factors are the absence of regulatory framework explaining the mechanism of interaction between private business and the state, the preservation of the image of a classical university, the lack of coherence and consistency of institutional changes.Введение. Изменение общей концепции развития университета в России в контексте модели университета 3.0 позволило рассматривать вуз в качестве самостоятельного экономического агента на рынке. Это дало возможность применить неоинституциональный подход Д. Норта.Постановка задачи. Процесс формирования новой идентичности высшей школы детерминирован происходящими институциональными обновлениями. Статья посвящена выявлению и анализу условий, способствующих формированию новой идентичности университета в логике неоинституциональной концепции Д. Норта.Методика и методология исследования. Обращение к неоинституциональному подходу возникло в связи с необходимостью проследить и оценить те изменения, которые произошли и будут происходить с университетом в контексте взаимодействия с обществом, государством и бизнесом, а также определить ту совокупность условий, которая будет способствовать формированию новой идентичности университета. В качестве методологических концептов теории Д. Норта рассматривались понятия формальных и неформальных ограничений, которые определяют возможные институциональные изменения.Результаты. Важным условием функционирования института является совокупность формальных и неформальных установок, к которым соответственно относим законы/кодексы, с одной стороны, традиции и обычаи – с другой. Эти понятия тесно связаны с понятиями идеологии и рынка, которые также оказывают влияние на изменения системы ограничений. Согласно Д. Норту, институциональные изменения возможны при обновлении формальных и неформальных рамок. В статье показано, что при формальных изменениях, привносимых сверху, все еще сохраняется образ классического университета как социального института, рынок также не готов воспринимать вуз в качестве самостоятельного экономического агента, как одного из стейкхолдеров предпринимательской и инновационной деятельности.Выводы. Очевидной становится проблема противоречия между предпочтениями субъектов образовательной, предпринимательской и инновационной деятельности. Серьезными сдерживающими факторами выступают отсутствие нормативноправовой базы, объясняющей механизм взаимодействия частного бизнеса и государства, сохранение образа классического университета, отсутствие системности и последовательности институциональных изменений

Detection of the neutral MSSM Higgs bosons in the intense-coupling regime at the LHC

We analyse the prospects to detect at the LHC the neutral Higgs particles of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, when the masses of the two CP-even $h,H$ and of the CP-odd $A$ boson are close to one another, and the value of \tb is large. In this "intense-coupling regime", the Higgs bosons have strongly enhanced couplings to isospin down-type fermions and large total decay widths, so that the $\gamma \gamma, WW^*$ and $ZZ^*$ decay modes of the three Higgs bosons are strongly suppressed. We advocate the use of the decays into muon pairs, $h,H,A \to \mu^+ \mu^-$, to resolve the three Higgs boson peaks: although the branching ratios are small, ${\cal O}(10^{4})$, the resolution on muons is good enough to allow for their detection, if the mass splitting is large enough. Using an event generator analysis and a fast detector simulation, we show that only the process $pp \to b\bar{b} \mu^+ \mu^-$, when at least one of the $b$-quarks is detected, is viable.Comment: 12 pages, latex, 6 figure

Magnetic and Superconducting Phase Diagram of Nb/Gd/Nb trilayers

We report on a study of the structural, magnetic and superconducting properties of Nb(25nm)/Gd($d_f$)/Nb(25nm) hybrid structures of a superconductor/ ferromagnet (S/F) type. The structural characterization of the samples, including careful determination of the layer thickness, was performed using neutron and X-ray scattering with the aid of depth sensitive mass-spectrometry. The magnetization of the samples was determined by SQUID magnetometry and polarized neutron reflectometry and the presence of magnetic ordering for all samples down to the thinnest Gd(0.8nm) layer was shown. The analysis of the neutron spin asymmetry allowed us to prove the absence of magnetically dead layers in junctions with Gd interlayer thickness larger than one monolayer. The measured dependence of the superconducting transition temperature $T_c(d_f)$ has a damped oscillatory behavior with well defined positions of the minimum at $d_f$=3nm and the following maximum at $d_f$=4nm; the behavior, which is in qualitative agreement with the prior work (J.S. Jiang et al, PRB 54, 6119). The analysis of the $T_c(d_f)$ dependence based on Usadel equations showed that the observed minimum at $d_f$=3nm can be described by the so called "$0$" to "$\pi$" phase transition of highly transparent S/F interfaces with the superconducting correlation length $\xi_f \approx 4$nm in Gd. This penetration length is several times higher than for strong ferromagnets like Fe, Co or Ni, simplifying thus preparation of S/F structures with $d_f \sim \xi_f$ which are of topical interest in superconducting spintronics

Diagnostic biopsy of sentinel lymph nodes in mammary gland cancer

Objective.To improve the diagnostic biopsy of sentinel lymph nodes in patients, suffering mammary gland cancer, using fluorescent lymphography, and to reduce the quantity of postoperative complications. Materials and methods. In 2016 – 2021yrs period on the base of Odessa Regional Clinical Hospital 400 patients, suffering mammary gland cancer Stages Т1–Т3N0М0, were operated on with application of fluorescent lymphography, using two dyers – the patent blue and indocyanine green. All the patients were distributed into two groups. In Group I (a control one) in 200 patients the sentinel lymph nodes biopsy was performed. The dyer patent blue was applied for the lymph nodes coloring.In Group II (the main) in 200 women–patients the sentinel lymph nodes biopsy, using the patent blue and fluorescent dyer indocyanine green, was performed. Both dyers were injected subdermally along the external areolar edge in the dose 2 ml of the dyer solution. Results. Total 5–year survival after axillary lymphodissection and after the sentinel lymph node biopsy have constituted 91and 92%, accordingly, while the recurrence–free 5–year survival – 82.2 and 83.9%, accordingly. Regional recurrence in sentinel lymph nodes on the affected mammary gland side was diagnosed in 1.1% of the women–patients. In 58% of the women–patients the sentinel lymph nodes were clear, and that’s why a subsequent lymphodissection was not indicated to perform. Metastatic lymph nodes were revealed in 42% of the women–patients. Conclusion. The method of diagnostic biopsy of sentinel lymph nodes in patients, suffering mammary gland cancer, using dyers, permits in majority of them to abandon traumatic operations in favor of organ–preserving interventions, thus reducing the postoperative complications rate significantly