A theoretical model of a wake of a body towed in a stratified fluid at large Reynolds and Froude numbers

International audienceThe objective of the present paper is to develop a theoretical model describing the evolution of a turbulent wake behind a towed sphere in a stably stratified fluid at large Froude and Reynolds numbers. The wake flow is considered as a quasi two-dimensional (2-D) turbulent jet flow whose dynamics is governed by the momentum transfer from the mean flow to a quasi-2-D sinuous mode growing due to hydrodynamic instability. The model employs a quasi-linear approximation to describe this momentum transfer. The model scaling coefficients are defined with the use of available experimental data, and the performance of the model is verified by comparison with the results of a direct numerical simulation of a 2-D turbulent jet flow. The model prediction for the temporal development of the wake axis mean velocity is found to be in good agreement with the experimental data obtained by Spedding (1997)

Elastic Charge Form Factors of π\pi and K Mesons

The elastic charge form factors of the charged $\pi$ and $K$ mesons are calculated in modified impulse approximation using instant form of relativistic Hamiltonian dynamics. Our approach gives pion and kaon electromagnetic form factors in the large range of momentum transfer. The results are in good agreement with the available data. Relativistic effects are large at all values of momentum transfers. The pion and kaon form factors at large $Q^2$ depend strongly on the choice of model. The experiments on pion form factor at large momentum transfer planned at CEBAF will choose between such models. In the case of kaon such a choosing may be performed only if supplemented by accurate measurements of kaon MSR.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, 2 uuencoded PostScript figure

Age correlation of cerebral corpus callosum and brainstem area indicators

Since aging is characterized by morphofunctional changes in humans, longevity leads to an increase in age-associated features of their bodies. Aim of the study was to carry out a comparative analysis of the cerebral corpus callosum and brainstem area in the human adolescent and old age and determine the presence of their correlation. Material and methods. The work is based on magnetic resonance imaging study of 88 patients examined in the Department of Radiation Diagnostics. The patients were divided into two groups: the first group consisted of 44 adolescents (aged 17–21) and the second group consisted of 44 seniors (aged 75–88). The areas of the corpus callosum and brain stem were calculated in the sagittal projection along the midline. Results and discussion. Analysis of the study results indicates that there is a tendency to the prevalence of cerebral corpus callosum and brain stem area in men compared to the indices established in women (p > 0.05). A tendency to prevalence of the area of the corpus callosum in adolescents in comparison to representatives of senile age has been established, which was more pronounced in men (by 3.37 %, p > 0.05) than in women (by 0.75 %, p > 0.05). Brain stem area is less in old age than in adolescence: in men by 3.29 % (p < 0.01), in women by 3.52 % (p < 0.01). The direct high correlation between the cerebellar body area and brain stem area has been established. Conclusions. The obtained results of the in vivo comparative analysis of corpus callosum and brain stem area of the human brain in adolescence and old age add scientific knowledge about age-related anatomical features of the central nervous system departments in postnatal ontogenesis of humans

ДИАГНОСТИКА НАРУШЕНИЙ В СИСТЕМЕ ГЕМОСТАЗА ПРИ ПРИМЕНЕНИИ ВАРФАРИНА У БОЛЬНЫХ КАРДИОХИРУРГИЧЕСКОГО ПРОФИЛЯ

Objective: to reveal early changes in the hemostatic system during warfarin therapy in cardiac surgical patients, by comprehensively evaluating their hemostatic status.Subjects and methods. Seventyfive patients receiving cardiac surgical treatment were examined. All the patients took warfarin for 5±1.5 days. Laboratory studies involving the determination of routine coagulogram readings and thrombodynamic indicators (lag time (Tlag) and rate (Vs) of clot growth, and concentrations of individual Factors II, VI, IX, and X) were used to evaluate the patients' hemostatic status.Results. 28% of the patients were found to have an international normalized ratio (INR) of above 3.0. There was a correlation of Tlag with INR (R2=0.66). Both indicators were  comparatively highly correlated with Factor II and Factor X concentrations (R2=0.50 and 0.40 for Tlag; R2=0.53 and 0.48 for INR) and were uncorrelated with Factor IX levels (R2=0.20 for Tlag and 0.34 for INR). However, there was a difference in Factor VII concentrations: no correlation for Tlag (R2=0.20) whereas it for INR was rather high (R2=0.42). The index Vs was uncorrelated with INR (R2=0.24) and the concentration of blood coagulation factors (R2<0.1). There was a high correlation between Factor II and Factor X concentrations (R2=0.87); the correlation between the concentrations of all other pairs of coagulation factors was substantially lower (R20.45). The lack of correlation of a thrombodynamic indicator, such as clot growth rate, with the concentration of coagulation factors points to the fact that warfarin acts mainly on the phase of coagulation activation rather than that of clot propagation.Conclusion. The weak correlation between coagulation factors (except that of a pair of Factor II and Factor X) is indicative of the individual response of the patients to warfarin treatment and the need to monitor the hemostatic status by global hemostatic tests rather than by individual proteins. The thrombodynamic indicator Tlag reflects the effect of warfarin in proportion to INR. Warfarin virtually fails to affect the rate of clot growth so this indicator may be used to evaluate the patient's procoagulant status uncompensated for with warfarin intake. Цель работы. Выявление ранних изменений в системе гемостаза при терапии варфарином у кардиохирургических больных путем комплексной оценки гемостатического статуса пациентов.Материалы и методы. Исследовано 75 пациентов, проходивших кардиохирургическое лечение. Все пациенты получали варфарин (продолжительность лечения больных — 5±1,5 суток). Для оценки гемостатического статуса больных использовали лабораторные методы, включающие определение рутинных показателей коагулограммы, тромбодинамики (время задержки Tlag и скорости роста сгустка (Vs), исследования концентрации II, VII, IX, X факторов).Результаты. Установлено, что у 28%больных показатель МНО находился в области свыше 3.0. Установлена корреляция Tlag с  MНО (R2=0,66). Оба показателя имеют сравнительно высокую корреляцию с концентрацией FII и FX (R2=0,50 и 0,40 для Tlag, R2=0,53 и 0,48 для МНО) и не коррелируют с концентрацией FIX (R2=0,20 для Tlag и 0,34 для МНО). Однако наблюдается расхождение в случае концентрации FVII: корреляция для Tlag отсутствует (R2=0,20), тогда как для МНО она достаточно высока (R2=0,42). Параметр Vs не коррелирует с МНО (R2=0,24) и концентрацией факторов свертывания (R2<0,1). Обнаружена высокая корреляция между концентрациями факторов FII и FX (R2=0,87), корреляция между концентрациями всех других пар факторов свертывания существенно ниже (R20,45). Отсутствие корреляции такого показателя тромбодинамики как скорость роста сгустка от концентрации факторов указывает на то, что варфарин действует преимущественно на фазу активации свертывания, но не на фазу распространения сгустка.Заключение. Слабая корреляция факторов свертывания между собой (за исключением пары фактор II — фактор X) указывает на индивидуальный ответ больных на лечение варфарином и необходимость мониторинга состояния гемостаза не по отдельным белкам, а глобальными тестами. Параметр Tlag в тромбодинамике отражает эффект варфарина пропорционально МНО. Варфарин практически не влияет на скорость роста сгустка Vs, поэтому данный параметр можно использовать для оценки прокоагулянтного состояния пациента, не компенсируемого приемом варфарина

A member of the Whirly family is a multifunctional RNA- and DNA-binding protein that is essential for chloroplast biogenesis

‘Whirly’ proteins comprise a plant-specific protein family whose members have been described as DNA-binding proteins that influence nuclear transcription and telomere maintenance, and that associate with nucleoids in chloroplasts and mitochondria. We identified the maize WHY1 ortholog among proteins that coimmunoprecipitate with CRS1, which promotes the splicing of the chloroplast atpF group II intron. ZmWHY1 localizes to the chloroplast stroma and to the thylakoid membrane, to which it is tethered by DNA. Genome-wide coimmunoprecipitation assays showed that ZmWHY1 in chloroplast extract is associated with DNA from throughout the plastid genome and with a subset of plastid RNAs that includes atpF transcripts. Furthermore, ZmWHY1 binds both RNA and DNA in vitro. A severe ZmWhy1 mutant allele conditions albino seedlings lacking plastid ribosomes; these exhibit the altered plastid RNA profile characteristic of ribosome-less plastids. Hypomorphic ZmWhy1 mutants exhibit reduced atpF intron splicing and a reduced content of plastid ribosomes; aberrant 23S rRNA metabolism in these mutants suggests that a defect in the biogenesis of the large ribosomal subunit underlies the ribosome deficiency. However, these mutants contain near normal levels of chloroplast DNA and RNAs, suggesting that ZmWHY1 is not directly required for either DNA replication or for global plastid transcription

Methodological Approaches to Assessing Illegal Imports and the Level of Collection of Customs Payments

This research analyzes the applicable methods for estimating illegal imports and the level of collection of customs duties and taxes, describes the foreign experience in measuring the so-called "tax gaps" and the share of illegal imports