Influence of mechanical activation on alkylation and extractability of coal

Results of studies of influence of mechanical activation on alkylation and extractability of coal of the Kaa-Khem deposit have been presented. Samples of coal, on being heated in a neutral-reducing environment condition on a 300-400 °C interval, undergo moderate agglomeration. On heating of coal in a neutralreducing environment condition over 450-600 °C interval, ebullition and removal of a highly boiling coal fraction occur. Mechanical activation decreases parameters of thermal destruction of coals. In response to mechanical activation reacting power of coal increases at the cost of formation of new pores and opening of inaccessible pores. The process of coal alkylation goes intensely in the case of preliminary mechanical processing of coal. This can best be done by vibration mill. Alkylation of activated charcoal increases solubility of coal. The regularities of changes of structure and properties of coals under mechanical activation and alkylation can be used in processes of processing of solid fuels

Numerical solution of the stochastic neural field equation with applications to working memory

The main goal of the present work is to investigate the effect of noise in some neural fields, used to simulate working memory processes. The underlying mathematical model is a stochastic integro-differential equation. In order to approximate this equation we apply a numerical scheme which uses the Galerkin method for the space discretization. In this way we obtain a system of stochastic differential equations, which are then approximated in two different ways, using the Euler–Maruyama and the Itô–Taylor methods. We apply this numerical scheme to explain how a population of cortical neurons may encode in its firing pattern simultaneously the nature and time of sequential stimulus events. Numerical examples are presented and their results are discussed.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Portuguese FCT (Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia), Portugal, through projects UIDB/04621/2020, UIDP/04621/2020 (IST), UIDB/00013/2020, UIDP/00013/2020 (UMinho) and PTDC/MAT-APL/31393/2017. The authors are also grateful to the reviewers for their careful reading of the text and helpful suggestions that contributed to the improvement of the article

Experimental study of intrinsic multiple Andreev reflections effect in GdO(F)FeAs superconductor array junctions

We report the first observation of the intrinsic multiple Andreev reflections effect (IMARE) in S-n-S-...-S-arrays (S = superconductor, n = normal metal) formed by "break-junction" technique in GdO(F)FeAs superconductor (Tc = 48 - 53 K). We show that superconducting gap peculiarities at dI/dV-spectra sharpen dramatically in the arrays as compared with that in the single-contact spectra; this enables to improve significantly accuracy of the bulk superconducting parameters determination. Using IMARE, we determined the large and the small gap values \Delta_L = 11 +- 1.1 meV and \Delta_S = 2.6 +- 0.4 meV. The BCS-ratio 2\Delta_L/kTc^{local} = 5.0 - 5.9 > 3.52 (Tc^{local} is the contact area critical temperature) evidences for a strong electron-boson coupling. The results obtained agree well with our previous data by Andreev spectroscopy for single SnS-contacts.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

The quality of medical care in a round-the-clock hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic

Violations in the provision of medical care are detected by controlling the volume, timing, quality and conditions of medical care. The objective of the work is assessment of the activities of the round-the-clock hospital from the standpoint of the quality of medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods. A database of indicators reflecting the activity of round-the-clock hospital for four years, from 2017 to 2020 (Omsk) was formed. Analytical, statistical methods and the method of expert assessments were used to analyze the required indicators. Results. Evaluation of inpatient hospital activities during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the “pre-pandemic” years showed a 1.9-fold and 2.9-fold decrease in the total number of quality examinations performed and the number of defects detected, respectively. The number of defects that were grounds for denial or reduction of payment for medical care found in the “before-COVID-19” years was 2.1 times higher than in 2020. In 2020, the weight of the share of those defects that directly reflect the quality of medical care increased signifcantly. The quantitative composition of the inpatient hospital staff changed insignifcantly during the analyzed period – the number of physicians increased  by only 5 % over four years, with no dynamics in the qualitative characteristics of the staff. The number of medical equipment increased by 27.6 %. Due to re-profling in 2020, there was a decrease in the number of hospitalized patients, with an increase in the proportion of patients admitted by emergency care (up to 91 %) and an increase in mortality by 2.7 times. Conclusions. One of the conditions for maintaining high quality of medical care is a balance between the main components of quality: accessibility, timeliness, sufciency, efciency and safety and the speed of its achievement, which in turn depends on the amount of resources and reserves

Sorption-Desorption Behavior of Atrazine on Soils Subjected to Different Organic Long-Term Amendments

Sorption of atrazine on soils subjected to three different organic amendments was measured using a batch equilibrium technique. A higher K(F) value (2.20 kg(-1)(mg L(-1))(-)N) was obtained for soil fertilized with compost, which had a higher organic matter (OM) content. A correlation between the K(Foc) values and the percentage of aromatic carbon in OM was observed. The highest K(Foc) value was obtained for the soil with the highest aromatic content. Higher aromatic content results in higher hydrophobicity of OM, and hydrophobic interactions play a key role in binding of atrazine, On the other hand, the soil amended with farmyard manure had a higher content of carboxylic units, which could be responsible for hydrogen bonding between atrazine and OR Dominance of hydrogen bonds compared to hydrophobic interactions can be responsible for the lower desorption capacity observed with the farmyard manure soil, The stronger hydrogen bonding can reduce the leaching of atrazine into drinking water resources and runoff to rivers and other surface waters

Shortened PQ interval in the differential diagnosis of Anderson-Fabry disease: a case report

In this article, we present a case of a patient with a late diagnosis of Fabry disease caused by a pathogenic variant in the GLA gene (p.1287_1288dup), who repeatedly attempted interventional treatment of Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome due to characteristic electrocardiographic pattern of ventricular preexcitation and paroxysmal arrhythmias. The proposed pathognomonic signs of the disease will ensure timely diagnosis and the appointment of specific treatment

The interplay of wind and uplift facilitates over-water flight in facultative soaring birds.

Flying over the open sea is energetically costly for terrestrial birds. Despite this, over-water journeys of many birds, sometimes hundreds of kilometres long, are uncovered by bio-logging technology. To understand how these birds afford their flights over the open sea, we investigated the role of atmospheric conditions, specifically wind and uplift, in subsidizing over-water flight at a global scale. We first established that ΔT, the temperature difference between sea surface and air, is a meaningful proxy for uplift over water. Using this proxy, we showed that the spatio-temporal patterns of sea-crossing in terrestrial migratory birds are associated with favourable uplift conditions. We then analysed route selection over the open sea for five facultative soaring species, representative of all major migratory flyways. The birds maximized wind support when selecting their sea-crossing routes and selected greater uplift when suitable wind support was available. They also preferred routes with low long-term uncertainty in wind conditions. Our findings suggest that, in addition to wind, uplift may play a key role in the energy seascape for bird migration that in turn determines strategies and associated costs for birds crossing ecological barriers such as the open sea

Variant of the <i>FLNC</i> gene nucleotide sequence in a family with different phenotypic manifestations of left ventricular non-compaction

Left ventricular non-compaction is a heterogeneous heart disease with various phenotypic and clinical manifestations. The article presents the results of clinical, instrumental and molecular genetic investigations of a family with diagnosed left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) with different clinical and phenotypic manifestations. As a result of a molecular genetic testing, all family members with the LVNC phenotype were found to have a likely pathogenic variant in the FLNC gene. Variants in this gene are associated with a number of cardiomyopathies: dilated, hypertrophic, and restrictive. In the international scientific literature, isolated clinical cases of LVNC development with variants of the FLNC gene nucleotide sequence are presented. In our work, we present a case report of LVNC with a variety of clinical manifestations within the same family