Fruit and seed plumpness, germination and viability of rare plants in Yakutia

Background. With the increasing anthropogenic impact on nature, conservation and renewal of rare and endangered plants in natural cenoses is an urgent problem. Quality assessment, identification of full-fledged plump seeds, and determination of their viability is the way to develop reproduction technologies and provide a possibility of repatriating these species to their natural habitats. Collecting and studying natural flora species in botanical gardens helps to save biological resources of useful species and recommend them for urban landscaping.Materials and methods. X-ray techniques were used to analyze seed quality and viability of rare species in the flora of Yakutia: Adonis sibirica Patrin, Phlojodicarpus sibiricus (Steph. ex Spreng.) Koso-Pol., Iris laevigata Fisch. et C.A. Mey., Iris sanguinea Donn, and Paeonia anomala L. Methods developed for the application of microfocus radiography to fruits and seeds were used in the X-ray analysis.Results. Seed quality was assessed according to guidelines. It was shown that fruits and seeds of the studied species developed under the conditions of Yakutia were full-fledged (plump), but due to the presence of a morphophysiological type of dormancy in them, they could germinate only after a cold or multistage stratification.Conclusion. Assessment of reproductive diaspore quality and viability in rare and endangered plant species of Yakutia will make it possible to develop technologies for increasing their seed germination rates and restoring the natural populations of these species

Field- and irradiation-induced phenomena in memristive nanomaterials

The breakthrough in electronics and information technology is anticipated by the development of emerging memory and logic devices, artificial neural networks and brain-inspired systems on the basis of memristive nano-materials represented, in a particular case, by a simple 'metal-insulator-metal' (MIM) thin-film structure. The present article is focused on the comparative analysis of MIM devices based on oxides with dominating ionic (ZrOx, HfOx) and covalent (SiOx, GeOx) bonding of various composition and geometry deposited by magnetron sputtering. The studied memristive devices demonstrate reproducible change in their resistance (resistive switching - RS) originated from the formation and rupture of conductive pathways (filaments) in oxide films due to the electric-field-driven migration of oxygen vacancies and/or mobile oxygen ions. It is shown that, for both ionic and covalent oxides under study, the RS behaviour depends only weakly on the oxide film composition and thickness, device geometry (down to a device size of about 20x20 mu m(2)). The devices under study are found to be tolerant to ion irradiation that reproduces the effect of extreme fluences of high-energy protons and fast neutrons. This common behaviour of RS is explained by the localized nature of the redox processes in a nanoscale switching oxide volume. Adaptive (synaptic) change of resistive states of memristive devices is demonstrated under the action of single or repeated electrical pulses, as well as in a simple model of coupled (synchronized) neuron-like generators. It is concluded that the noise-induced phenomena cannot be neglected in the consideration of a memristive device as a nonlinear system. The dynamic response of a memristive device to periodic signals of complex waveform can be predicted and tailored from the viewpoint of stochastic resonance concept. (C) 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei

Identity of electrons and ionization equilibrium

It is perhaps appropriate that, in a year marking the 90th anniversary of Meghnad Saha seminal paper (1920), new developments should call fresh attention to the problem of ionization equilibrium in gases. Ionization equilibrium is considered in the simplest "physical" model for an electronic subsystem of matter in a rarefied state, consisting of one localized electronic state in each nucleus and delocalized electronic states considered as free ones. It is shown that, despite the qualitative agreement, there is a significant quantitative difference from the results of applying the Saha formula to the degree of ionization. This is caused by the fact that the Saha formula corresponds to the "chemical" model of matter.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Перфузионный комплекс для восстановления и поддержания жизнеспособности донорской печени ex vivo: первое экспериментальное исследование

Introduction. Successful liver transplantation including from donors with a sudden irreversible cardiac arrest requires the use of modern hardware and technical support to maintain, select and sustain organ viability for the period from harvesting to transplantation to the recipient.Materials and methods. Hardware-software system (HSS) developed by the Russian State Scientific Center for Robotics and Technical Cybernetics (RTC) was used for testing of normothermic perfusion of donor’s liver ex vivo. The experiment was conducted on the isolated pig liver (Duroc breed) in accordance with the ethical principles.Result. During perfusion spontaneous recovery of bile outflow through the cannula installed in the common bile duct (volume of bile released – 240 ml) was observed, and the color and uniformity of the perfused liver did not differ from the normal parameters. Biochemical indicators were stabilized at the physiological values after 40 minutes of perfusion procedure.Conclusion. Isolated liver transplant was completely restored after 30 minutes of warm ischemia and was functioning well due to ex vivo perfusion procedure on the new perfusion device. The first case of the new device usage for normothermic liver ex vivo demonstrated hopeful results to be further investigated.Введение. Сокращение числа посмертных доноров со стандартными характеристиками органов является главной проблемой трансплантологии. Развитию программ пересадки печени отвечает разработка перфузионного аппаратно-технического обеспечения, позволяющего восстанавливать, проверять, сохранять и поддерживать жизнеспособность органа ex vivo. В статье приводятся данные о первичном отечественном экспериментальном опыте перфузии донорской печени на разработанном перфузионном комплексе.Материалы и методы. Для апробации нормотермической перфузии донорской печени в целях восстановления и сохранения жизнеспособности органа после 30-минутного периода асистолии был использован разработанный экспериментальный образец аппаратно-программного комплекса (АПК). Аппарат для перфузии донорской печени ex vivo был разработан в ФГАНУ «Центральный научно-исследовательский и опытно-конструкторский институт робототехники и технической кибернетики» (ЦНИИ РТК) при поддержке Министерства образования и науки РФ. Эксперимент был проведен на изолированной печени свиньи в соответствии с международными этическими требованиями к исследованиям на животных.Результат. В процессе перфузии наблюдалось спонтанное восстановление оттока желчи через канюлю, установленную в общий желчный проток (объем отделяемой желчи – 240 мл), цвет и однородность перфузируемой печени не отличались от нормальных параметров. Биохимические показатели стабилизировались на уровне физиологических значений через 40 минут проводимого сеанса нормотермической аппаратной перфузии.Вывод. В результате проведенной апробации АПК на свиной печени продемонстрировано, что новое устройство позволяет проводить нормотермическую перфузию и тем самым восстанавливать функцию печени после 30-минутной тепловой ишемии. Первое применение аппарата показывает обнадеживающий результат. Требуются дальнейшие исследования для внедрения в клиническую практику трансплантологии методов аппаратного восстановления и сохранения жизнеспособности трансплантатов ex vivo

NOVOSIBIRSK REGION PROGRAM OF THE LIVER TRANSPLANTATION IN CHILDREN

The aim of the study was to analyze the early and late outcomes of pediatric liver transplantation (LTx) program in the Novosibirsk region. Material and Methods. The retrospective study included 24 patients aged 72 ± 74.8 months (from 4 to 212 months, median – 20 months) with a body weight of 21.7 ± 18.1 kg (from 4.5 to 55 kg, median – 12.5 kg). Two (8.3 %) cadaveric whole liver grafts, 19 (79.2 %) living donor liver grafts, and 3 (12.5 %) cadaveric liver fragments (reduced-size or split-liver) were transplanted. Results. The features of vascular and biliary reconstruction in different types of LTx are discussed. The incidence of vascular and biliary complications was 8.3 and 20.8%, respectively. The patients stayed in the intensive care unit for 9 ± 5.1 days (from 4 to 22 days, median 8 days) and total length of hospital stay was for 40 ± 25.4 days (from 19 to 136 days, median 32 days). Two (8.3 %) recipients had early graft dysfunction. Perioperative mortality (up to 90 days) was absent. The overall 5-year patient and graft survival rates were 95 and 88 %, respectively. Conclusion. The Novosibirsk region has a pediatric LTx program with outcomes comparable to the data of the leading world and Russian centers

Nanosystems for Health and Environment

Context. The Sun is the most studied of all stars, which serves as a reference for all other observed stars in the Universe. Furthermore, it also serves the role of a privileged laboratory of fundamental physics and can help us better understand processes occuring in conditions irreproducible on Earth. However, our understanding of our star is currently lessened by the so-called solar modelling problem, resulting from comparisons of theoretical solar models to helioseismic constraints. These discrepancies can stem from various causes, such as the radiative opacities, the equation of state as well as the mixing of the chemical elements

CREATION BY SPIN COATING TECHNIQUE OF ORGANIC THIN FILMS BASED ON INDOLOCARBAZOLE

An automated system for deposition of thin organic layers by spin coating technique was designed on the basis of LB11880 chip, brushless motor, National Instruments’ control-meas-uring hardware and original «SCorg» virtual instrument. Deposition method of 5,11-dihexyl-5,11-dihydro[3,2-b]carbazole on TiN substrate was developed. Measured thickness of organic semiconductor layer was 440 ± 80 and 220 ± 40 nm for solutions with concentration of 20 and 10 mg/ml, respectively