Robotic Services for New Paradigm Smart Cities Based on Decentralized Technologies

This article describes different methods of organizing robotic services for smart cities using secure encrypted decentralized technologies and market mechanisms—as opposed to models based on centralized solutions based (or not) on using cloud services and stripping citizens of the control of their own data. The basis of the proposed methods is the Ethereum decentralized computer with the mechanism of smart contracts. In this work, special attention is paid to the integration of technical and economic information into one network of transactions, which allows creating a unified way of interaction between robots—the robot economy. Three possible scenarios of robotic services for smart cities based on the economy of robots are presented: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), environmental monitoring, and smart factories. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed scenarios, three experiments are presented and discussed. Our work shows that the Ethereum network can provide, through smart contracts and their ability to activate programs to interact with the physical world, an effective and practical way to manage robot services for smart cities

Construxercise!: Implementation of a construction-based approach to language pedagogy

We propose a construction-based approach to learning and teaching Russian as a second language (L2) and present an innovative pedagogical resource called Construxercise! Hands-on learning of Russian constructions (https://constructicon.github.io/construxercise-rus/) that implements this approach. The resource offers practical exercises for mastering Russian discourse constructions that are thoroughly described in the Russian Constructicon (https://constructicon.github.io/russian/), a large searchable database of Russian constructions. We argue that the Construxercise! resource fills an essential gap in available educational materials and provides a powerful alternative for successfully organizing conversational practice in L2 Russian. Targeting strategic and highly frequent discourse constructions in language learning brings the focus to conversation and strengthens text production skills. The article details our methodology, the choice of constructions, and the architecture of the website. The resource is built in close collaboration with our students and benefits from both native and non-native perspectives on L2 Russian

POSSIBILITY OF BURNING PEAT PELLETS AT COMBINED HEAT AND POWER PLANTS

Expansion of use of local types of fuel and energy resources is presented as one of the priority directions of the energy strategy of Russia for the perspective period. Development of extraction of peat in the Kirov region and a possibility of his use for receiving pellet with the subsequent burning at combined heat and power plant is one of the possible directions of the region's energy development.Расширение использования местных видов топливно- энергетических ресурсов представлено как одно из приоритетных направлений энергетической стратегии России на перспективный период. Развитие добычи торфа в Кировской области и возможность его использования для получения пеллет с последующим сжиганием на ТЭЦ является одним из возможных направлений развития энергетики региона

Липидная стратегия повышения биодоступности нуклеозидных ингибиторов обратной транскриптазы ВИЧ

In recent years, various approaches to the prodrug design on the basis of anti-HIV active nucleoside compounds used in the therapy are intensively investigated. In this paper, the principles of modifying this class of drugs by lipid substances allowing obtained conjugates to insert in natural lipid transport and metabolic pathways that can increase nucleoside agents bioavailability are described. Literature data associated with the research of the pronucleotide approach serving the purpose of increasing nucleoside drugs therapeutical efficacy and reducing the side effects on the organism are reviewed. Experimental data obtained by the authors in course of research of synthetic routes and properties of the new lipid-modified anti-HIV nucleosides are also presented.В последние годы широко исследуются различные подходы к конструированию пролекарственных соединений на основе применяемых в терапевтической практике анти-ВИЧ-активных нуклеозидных препаратов. В работе рассмотрены принципы модификации лекарственных средств данного класса с помощью веществ липидной природы, позволяющие образующимся конъюгатам встраиваться в естественные пути транспорта и метаболизма природных липидов, что приводит к повышению биодоступности нуклеозидных агентов. Представлены литературные данные, посвященные исследованиям пронуклеотидного подхода для повышения терапевтической эффективности нуклеозидных препаратов и снижения их побочного действия на организм. Также приводятся результаты собственных экспериментальных исследований путей синтеза и свойств новых липидмодифицированных анти-ВИЧ-нуклеозидов

Investigation of the scale effect and the concept of a representative volume element of rocks in relation to porosity

© 2020 The Authors. The article discusses the concepts of upscaling, the representative volume element (RVE) of the geological environment in relation to porosity from the point of view of the theory of structured continuum. The manifestation of the large-scale effect of porosity in terrigenous and carbonate reservoirs has been studied. The analysis of domestic and foreign methods of core sampling was carried out using the example of the Schlumberger company to study the porosity and permeability of the core in petrophysical laboratories and calculate the RVE of rock samples according to the porosity values determined by analyzing the pore-network model, liquid saturation, nuclear magnetic resonance and X-ray computed tomography, as well as the gas-volumetric method. The features and reasons for the manifestation of the large-scale effect of porosity in heterogeneous carbonate reservoirs have been studied. Methods for quantitative assessment of the anisotropy of rocks in the study of heterogeneity of rocks are considered. The necessity of taking into account the scale effect of porosity in the analysis of the correlation dependence “core - geophysical well logging”, established from the porosity data for both terrigenous and carbonate sections. The feasibility of using a core with a diameter of 60-100 mm and standard-size samples is considered when comparing laboratory values of porosity and porosity values determined from logging data. A study of direct and indirect petrophysical methods for determining the porosity of core samples was carried out when solving the same problems to identify the minimum representative volume of a core sample. It has been established that direct methods are the most effective in terms of time and financial costs for the prompt calculation of porosity coefficients for specimens with a diameter and height of 30-100 mm. The analysis of the porosity data ultimately made it possible to study the manifestation of the scale effect of porosity with a change in the sample size. A detailed analysis of published works will allow in the future to develop our own effective sampling technique for determining the RVE of the core interval as applied to porosity

The influence of the scale effect on the connected porosity in Bashkirian limestones

© 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. The concepts of the representative elementary volume and the scale effect for terrigenous and carbonaceous reservoirs have been considered. Various approaches of representative elementary volume calculations have been investigated. The whole core segment connected porosity is evaluated in two ways using the 7.3 cm diameter core samples in the first approach and the core samples 10 cm long by 3 cm in diameter in the second way. Logging porosity data and core samples values have been studied to identify optimal core sizes for the estimation of the relationship between core and well log data

Evaluation of determining factors of underground hydrosphere evolution within urban areas (on the example of Irkutsk)

The relevance of the discussed issue. Studying the anthropogenic evolution and transformation of underground hydrosphere within urbanized territories is the relevant issue nowadays. Underflooding and forming of technogenic aquifers cause serious geological hazards, that has been seen in some districts of Irkutsk. That fact sets a problem of forecasting and controlling underground hydrosphere to maintain sustainable development and environmental compatibility of Irkutsk. This paper is positioned as a part of complex study of underground hydrosphere sustainability within urbanized territories. The main aim is to define theoretically the complex of determining factors, which provide technogenic underground hydrosphere evolution within territory of Irkutsk, to evaluate numerically and to map each factor spatial distribution, zoning according to the level of anthropogenic influence. The methods used in the study. The authors have analyzed the underground pipeline schemes, road network and lan