FORECAST OF TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF FUEL AND ENERGY COMPLEX OF RUSSIA IN THE CONTEXT OF WORLD TRENDS

The paper presents the forecast of technological development of the fuel and energy complex of Russia in the context of world trends. In the work identified the main directions of the fuel and energy complex, identified their origin from the technical and economic side, and justified their relevance.В работе представлен прогноз технологического развития топливно-энергетического комплекса России в контексте мировых трендов. Выявлены основные направления развития ТЭК, определены перспективы их зарождения с технико-экономической стороны, а также обоснована их актуальность

Gay, Mostly Gay, or Bisexual Leaning Gay? An Exploratory Study Distinguishing Gay Sexual Orientations Among Young Men

This exploratory study assessed physiological, behavioral, and self-report measures of sexual and romantic indicators of sexual orientation identities among young men (mean age = 21.9 years) with predominant same-sex sexual and romantic interests: those who described themselves as bisexual leaning gay (n = 11), mostly gay (n = 17), and gay (n = 47). Although they were not significantly distinguishable based on physiological (pupil dilation) responses to nude stimuli, on behavioral and self-report measures a descending linear trend toward the less preferred sex (female) was significant regarding sexual attraction, fantasy, genital contact, infatuation, romantic relationship, sex appeal, and gazing time to the porn stimuli. Results supported a continuum of sexuality with distinct subgroups only for the self-report measure of sexual attraction. The other behavioral and self-report measures followed the same trend but did not significantly differ between the bisexual leaning gay and mostly gay groups, likely the result of small sample size. Results suggest that romantic indicators are as good as sexual measures in assessing sexual orientation and that a succession of logically following groups from bisexual leaning gay, mostly gay, to gay. Whether these three groups are discrete or overlapping needs further research

Is scalp hair a valid indicator for the assessment of lithium content in the human body?

On the basis of available evidences, Li has an extraordinarily complex, multifactorial and strongly intercorelated role. As the safety margin between therapeutic and toxic Li doses is very small, its requirements must be accurately determined for the general population and subjects exposed to physical exertion, certain diseases, children, adolescent lactating mother, formula diets and in dialysis patients. Human head hair is a recording filament that can reflect metabolic changes of many elements over long periods of time and thus furnish a print-out of post nutritional events. However, there is a question of reliability of the "hair mineral test", and the scientific validity of the "body mineral status" estimation using the "hair mineral test" results. Therefore, we determined the normal levels and age-related changes of Li in the scalp hair of healthywomen andmen - residents of an uncontaminated area and checked correlations between Li contents in hair and rib-bone tissue. Comparison to bone wasmade because Li has a high affinity to this tissue. Contents of Li in intact scalp hair and rib-bone of 80 relatively healthy 15 - 58 years oldwomen (n = 38) and men (n = 42) were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Mean values (M ± SEM) for the mass fraction of Li (milligram per kilogram) in scalp hair of females, males, and females and males taken together were as follows: 0.0221 ± 0.0035, 0.0399 ± 0.0056, and 0.0317 ± 0.0036, respectively. A tendency for an increased Li mass fraction with age was observed in the scalp hair of females only. It was shown that lower Li content was typical of female scalp hair as compared to those in male hair. No clear correlation was found between the Li content in scalp hair and the rib-bone. The results obtained may serve as indicative normal values for the lithium content in human scalp hair. ©2010 Dustri-Verlag Dr. K. Feistle

The effect of age and gender on the lithium content in rib bone of healthy humans

Information on chemical elements of human bones and of their body burdens may be useful for assessing nutrition and for prevention and control of various disease states caused by mineral or trace element imbalance. Therefore, we studied the effect of age and gender on the lithium content in rib bone of healthy humans. Contents of Li in intact rib-bone of 80 relatively healthy 15-58 year old women (n = 38) and men (n = 42) were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Mean values (M ± SEM) for the mass fraction of Li (milligram per kilogram of dry bone) in rib-bone of females, males, and females and males taken together were as follows: 0.0360 ± 0.0024, 0.0376 ± 0.0020, and 0.0369 ± 0.0015, respectively. No clear correlation was found between the Li content and age and gender. The results obtained may serve as indicative normal values for the lithium content in human rib-bone. ©2010 Dustri-Verlag Dr. K. Feistle

Synergistic extraction of uranium(VI) with TODGA and hydrophobic ionic liquid mixtures into molecular diluent

International audienceThe extraction of uranium(VI) from aqueous nitric acid solutions with a neutral extractant, N,N,N 0 ,N 0-tetra (n-octyl)diglycolamide (TODGA), and with the mixtures of TODGA and a hydrophobic ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([C 4 mim][Tf 2 N]), into a molecular diluent, 1,2-dichloroethane, has been systematically investigated. The extraction efficiency of U(VI) ions was greatly enhanced by addition of a small amount of ionic liquid to an organic phase containing TODGA. The synergistic effect comes from the higher hydrophobicity of U(VI) extracted species formed by TODGA and weakly coordinating Tf 2 N À anions as compared to those formed by TODGA and NO 3 À anions as counterions in the conventional extraction system. Based on our experimental results, we concluded that the partition of Tf 2 N À anions between the two liquid phases is the dominant factor governing the extractability of uranium(VI) with the mixture of TODGA and ionic liquid as extractant. We showed that the extraction of U(VI) from aqueous nitric acid solutions both by TODGA alone and its mixtures with [C 4 mim][Tf 2 N] into 1,2-dichloroethane can be quantitatively described on the basis of the solvation extraction mechanism. However, in the extraction system with added hydrophobic ionic liquid, the partition of Tf 2 N À anions between the two immiscible phases and the interaction between bis(trifluorome thylsulfonyl)imide acid, HTf 2 N, and TODGA molecules in the organic phase should be taken into account