Recent progress in the simulation of diffusion associated with hollow and Bi-metallic nanoparticles

In this paper, we review the recent understanding gained by kinetic Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulation and related theory of the diffusion processes involved in 1) the formation and later shrinkage of hollow nanoparticles and 2) the formation of segregated bi-metallic nanoparticles

Исследование личностных профилей полярных стратегий смыслообразования

Introduction. Studying the strategies of making personal meanings from the viewpoint of polar assessment and sense dissonance is an important issue. The study broadens the concept of a meaning-making strategy. The paper gives the definition of polar strategies (developmental and adaptive) and reveals features of their actualization in the situations of life. The study describes the polar meaning-making strategies on the basis of the isomorphism of meanings and personality traits. The empirical study revealed and statistically tested the main index-marker of the polar strategies – the meaningfulness of life by D. A. Leont'ev’s Test of Life Meaning Orientations. Along with polar semantic scales of personality traits, this index-marker helps to predict a relevant meaning-making strategy. Methods. The research is based on partial semantic differential of personality traits in the form of bipolar semantic scales. The study employed (a) the Test of Life Meaning Orientations by D. A. Leont'ev, (b) the “Who Am I?” Test by M. Kuhn, (c) the Frustration Tolerance Test by S. Rosenzweig, (d) the Self-Reflection Questionnaire by A. I. Stetsenko, and (e) the Multiple Intelligence Test by H. Gardner. The study involved 145 participants. Results. The personal profile reflected the meaning-making strategy of the experiencing individual. This personal profile as a multifactorial model of possible states of the sense-value sphere of the experiencing subject contained the following parameters: (a) nine authors’ scales of partial semantic differential on the basis of bipolar scales of the personal traits; (b) the index of meaningfulness of life (ML) by D. A. Leont'ev’s Test of Life Meaning Orientations; (c) the self-reflection level (SRL) by I. A. Stetsenko’s Self-Reflection Questionnaire; (d) the self-assessment level (SAL) by M. Kuhn’s “Who Am I?” Test; (e) the group conformity coefficient (GCC) by S. Rosenzweig Frustration Test. Discussion. The revealed personal profiles of meaning-making polar strategies differ by age, gender, and profession. In conclusion: the polar scales of partial semantic differential and also the index-marker of meaningfulness of life could be useful for predicting a relevant meaning-making strategy.Введение. Авторами доказывается актуальность исследования смыслообразования в части изучения стратегий образования личностных смыслов с позиций полярного оценивания, смыслового диссонанса. Новизна исследования заключается в дополнении понятия стратегии смыслообразования; предложено определение полярных стратегий: развивающей и приспособительной, что позволяет выявлять особенности их актуализации в ситуациях жизнедеятельности. На основе изоморфизма смыслов и свойств личности предложено описание полярных стратегий смыслообразования. Эмпирически выявлен и статистически проверен основной показатель-маркер полярных стратегий – «осмысленность жизни» теста смысложизненных ориентаций по Д. А. Леонтьеву, который вместе с полярными семантическими шкалами свойств личности позволяет прогнозировать актуальную стратегию смыслообразования. Методы. В разделе описывается частный семантический дифференциал личностных свойств в виде набора биполярных семантических шкал, указывается использование в исследовании методик: тест смысложизненных ориентаций Д. А. Леонтьева, тест М. Куна «Кто Я?», тест фрустрационной толерантности С. Розенцвейга, анкета саморефлексии А. И. Стеценко, тест множественного интеллекта Г. Гарднера. Результаты. Данный раздел включает описание личностного профиля, эмпирически выявленного на выборке 145 человек, отражающего наличную смыслообразующую стратегию переживающего индивида. Этот личностный профиль, как мультифакторная модель возможных состояний ценностно-смысловой сферы переживающего субъекта, содержит параметры: девять предложенных авторами шкал частного семантического дифференциала на основе биполярных шкал личностных свойств, показатель осмысленности жизни (ОЖ) теста смысложизненных ориентаций по Д. А. Леонтьеву; уровень саморефлексии (УСР) по анкете саморефлексии И. А. Стеценко; уровень самооценки (С) по тесту М. Куна «Кто Я?»; коэффициент групповой конформности (GCR) фрустрационного теста С. Розенцвейга. Обсуждение результатов. Авторы рассматривают различия в особенностях выявленных личностных профилей полярных стратегий смыслообразования при изменениях в выборке по возрастному, гендерному, профессиональному признакам. В заключение делается вывод о возможности прогнозировать актуальную стратегию смыслообразования с помощью полярных шкал частного семантического дифференциала и показателя-маркера «осмысленность жизни»

Natural Afforestation on Abandoned Agricultural Lands during Post-Soviet Period: A Comparative Landsat Data Analysis of Bordering Regions in Russia and Belarus

Remote monitoring of natural afforestation processes on abandoned agricultural lands is crucial for assessments and predictions of forest cover dynamics, biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services. In this work, we built on the general approach of combining satellite and field data for forest mapping and developed a simple and robust method for afforestation dynamics assessment. This method is based on Landsat imagery and index-based thresholding and specifically targets suitability for limited field data. We demonstrated method’s details and performance by conducting a case study for two bordering districts of Rudnya (Smolensk region, Russia) and Liozno (Vitebsk region, Belarus). This study area was selected because of the striking differences in the development of the agrarian sectors of these countries during the post-Soviet period (1991-present day). We used Landsat data to generate a consistent time series of five-year cloud-free multispectral composite images for the 1985–2020 period via the Google Earth Engine. Three spectral indices, each specifically designed for either forest, water or bare soil identification, were used for forest cover and arable land mapping. Threshold values for indices classification were both determined and verified based on field data and additional samples obtained by visual interpretation of very high-resolution satellite imagery. The developed approach was applied over the full Landsat time series to quantify 35-year afforestation dynamics over the study area. About 32% of initial arable lands and grasslands in the Russian district were afforested by the end of considered period, while the agricultural lands in Belarus’ district decreased only by around 5%. Obtained results are in the good agreement with the previous studies dedicated to the agricultural lands abandonment in the Eastern Europe region. The proposed method could be further developed into a general universally applicable technique for forest cover mapping in different growing conditions at local and regional spatial levels

Natural Afforestation on Abandoned Agricultural Lands during Post-Soviet Period: A Comparative Landsat Data Analysis of Bordering Regions in Russia and Belarus

Remote monitoring of natural afforestation processes on abandoned agricultural lands is crucial for assessments and predictions of forest cover dynamics, biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services. In this work, we built on the general approach of combining satellite and field data for forest mapping and developed a simple and robust method for afforestation dynamics assessment. This method is based on Landsat imagery and index-based thresholding and specifically targets suitability for limited field data. We demonstrated method’s details and performance by conducting a case study for two bordering districts of Rudnya (Smolensk region, Russia) and Liozno (Vitebsk region, Belarus). This study area was selected because of the striking differences in the development of the agrarian sectors of these countries during the post-Soviet period (1991-present day). We used Landsat data to generate a consistent time series of five-year cloud-free multispectral composite images for the 1985–2020 period via the Google Earth Engine. Three spectral indices, each specifically designed for either forest, water or bare soil identification, were used for forest cover and arable land mapping. Threshold values for indices classification were both determined and verified based on field data and additional samples obtained by visual interpretation of very high-resolution satellite imagery. The developed approach was applied over the full Landsat time series to quantify 35-year afforestation dynamics over the study area. About 32% of initial arable lands and grasslands in the Russian district were afforested by the end of considered period, while the agricultural lands in Belarus’ district decreased only by around 5%. Obtained results are in the good agreement with the previous studies dedicated to the agricultural lands abandonment in the Eastern Europe region. The proposed method could be further developed into a general universally applicable technique for forest cover mapping in different growing conditions at local and regional spatial levels

Kinetic Effects on the Stability Properties of Field-reversed Configurations: II. Nonlinear Evolution

Results of three-dimensional hybrid simulations of the field-reversed configuration (FRC) are presented. Emphasis of this work is on the nonlinear evolution of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities in kinetic FRCs. A wide range of ''bar s'' values is considered, where the ''bar s'' is the FRC kinetic parameter, which measures the number of ion gyroradii in the configuration. The linear and nonlinear stability of MHD modes with toroidal mode numbers n greater than or equal to 1 is investigated, including the effects of ion rotation, finite electron pressure, and weak toroidal field. Low-''bar s'' simulations show nonlinear saturation of the n = 1 tilt mode. The n greater than or equal to 2 rotational modes are observed to grow during the nonlinear phase of the tilt instability due to ion spin-up in the toroidal direction. Large-''bar s'' simulations show no saturation of the tilt mode, and there is a slow nonlinear evolution of the instability after the initial fast linear growth. Overall, the hybrid simulations demonstrate the importance of nonlinear effects, which are responsible for the saturation of instabilities in low-''bar s'' configurations, and also for the increase in FRC life-time compared to MHD models in high-''bar s'' configurations