Crystallographic parameters of compounds and solid solutions in binary systems Cu-Pt and Ga-Pt

The study establishes that the packing index in compounds of the system Cu-Pt is close to the value 0.74 against a slight deviation from the Zen law of atomic volumes. The compounds in the system Ga-Pt have the highest values of the packing index in the range of the equiatomic composition, which greatly exceed ψ for close-packed structures based on FCC and HCP lattices for compounds made of the same kind of atoms. A correlation between singular points on the phase diagram of the system Ga-Pt and high values of the packing index in compounds is established

Investigation of Polymer Composite Materials Based on Mechanically Activated Polytetrafluoroethylene

В данной работе исследовано влияние механической активации политетрафторэтилена ПТФЭ на свойства наполненных композитов. Установлено, что у полимерной смеси ПТФЭ с 10 мас.% активированного ПТФЭ в планетарной мельнице в течение 5 минут повышаются деформационно-прочностные показатели и модуль упругости. Показано, что добавление 0,5–2 мас.% активированного Сибунита в полимерную матрицу не приводит к снижению деформационно- прочностных показателей по сравнению с исходным ПТФЭ, износостойкость полимерных композиционных материалов ПКМ при этом повышается в 6–56 раз. Это, видимо, связано с тем, что при активации частицы Сибунита диспергируются, а также модифицированная матрица характеризуется улучшенными значениями деформационно- прочностных характеристик, что компенсирует негативное влияние наполнителя на эти показатели при наполнении содержания Сибунита до 2 мас.%. Увеличение концентрации до 5 мас.% приводит к повышению износостойкости в 107 раз, но к снижению деформационно-прочностных показателей ПКМ. Таким образом, на основании проведенных исследований показана перспективность использования полимерной смеси ПТФЭ-активированный ПТФЭ, содержащий до 10 мас.% активированного полимераIn this work, the influence of mechanical activation of polytetrafluoroethylene PTFE on the properties of filled composites was studied. It has been established that the polymer mixture of PTFE with 10 wt.% activated PTFE in a planetary mill within 5 minutes increases the deformation-strength parameters and the modulus of elasticity. It has been shown that the addition of 0.5–2 wt.% of activated Sibunit to the polymer matrix does not lead to a decrease in deformation- strength characteristics compared to the original PTFE, while the wear resistance of polymer composite materials PCM increases by 6–56 times. This is apparently due to the fact that, upon activation, Sibunit particles are dispersed, and the modified matrix is characterized by improved values of deformation and strength characteristics, which compensates for the negative effect of the filler on these indicators when the Sibunit content is filled to 2 wt.%. An increase in concentration to 5 wt.% leads to an increase in wear resistance by a factor of 107, but to a decrease in the deformation- strength parameters of PCM. Thus, based on the studies performed, the use of a polymer mixture of PTFE-activated PTFE containing up to 10 wt.% of the activated polyme

Resolution on the results of the first working meeting of the scientific advisory board «Actual problems of glycemic variability as a new criterion of glycemic control and safety of diabetes therapy»

The Scientific Advisory Board, chaired by Professor G. R. Galstyan (cochair - A.V. Zilov), met in Moscow on 19 June 2018 to discuss the possibilities of improving the results of diabetes mellitus (DM) treatment by considering glycaemic variability (GV) as an additional criterion for effective glycaemic control (especially in patients receiving insulin therapy) and as one of the goals of treatment in patients with unstable glycaemia. The purpose of the working meeting was to develop a strategy for the introduction of GV as a predictor and as an additional criterion for assessing the effectiveness and safety of hypoglycaemic therapy to improve the pharmacotherapy of diabetes and reduce cardiovascular and total mortality. The aims of the working meeting were to conduct a comprehensive data analysis of the relationship between GV and hypoglycaemia; to gather and analyse published data and the experience of decrease in GV and improved outcomes of diabetes against the background of different types of insulin therapy; to compare existing methods of glycaemia monitoring and GV assessment and examine their validity and availability in real practice in the context of limited budget and to analyse the informativeness and clinical and prognostic significance of various parameters of GV assessment and to determine their reasonable ‘minimum’ for a comprehensive assessment of GV as a criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of DM treatment and the predictors of negative diabetes outcomes. The following reports were presented during the discussion: ‘Glycemic variability: clinical and prognostic value. Types of glycemic variability’ (Candidate of Medical Sciences, assistant Professor Zilov A.V.); ‘Methods of assessment of variability of glycemia in clinical trials and routine practice’ (PhD, Professor Markova T. N.); ‘Current international and national recommendations on glycemic monitoring’ (PhD, Professor Galstyan G. R.) and ‘Peculiarities of glycemic variability and its evaluation among children and adolescents’ (Candidate of Medical Sciences Vitebskaya A.V.)

Проза В. Маканина о чеченской войне

This article considers the urgent problem of literary genre analysis of the modern prose. Under the conditions of overall distrust to an open word, archaic models and plot structures provide a modern writer with an opportunity to speak about the most important matters, avoiding pathos, rhetoric and didactics. The articles studies the works by V. Makanin about the Chechen war based on intuition and movement of free thought of the writer developing in parable forms. Modern parable is a reaction to the word closed in the literary field, on literocentricity; it displays artistic expression in a broader context returning ethical and didactic components to the word. The use of parables leads to almost unlimited opportunities of multi-level reading, it activates the living, intellectual and spiritual experience of the reader to the utmostСтатья посвящена актуальной литературоведческой проблеме жанрового анализа современной прозы. В условиях тотального недоверия к открытому слову архаические модели и сюжетные структуры предоставляют современному писателю возможность сказать о самом главном, избегая пафоса, риторики и дидактики. В качестве объекта исследования избраны произведения В. Маканина о чеченской войне, которые строятся с опорой на интуицию и движение свободной мысли художника, развертывающейся в притчевых формах. Современная притча – реакция на замкнутое в литературном поле слово, на литературоцентричность; она выводит художественное слово в более широкий контекст, возвращая слову этическую, учительную составляющую. Притчевость предоставляет практически неограниченные возможности для многоуровневого прочтения, предельно активизирует житейский, интеллектуальный и духовный опыт читател

Проза В. Маканина о чеченской войне

This article considers the urgent problem of literary genre analysis of the modern prose. Under the conditions of overall distrust to an open word, archaic models and plot structures provide a modern writer with an opportunity to speak about the most important matters, avoiding pathos, rhetoric and didactics. The articles studies the works by V. Makanin about the Chechen war based on intuition and movement of free thought of the writer developing in parable forms. Modern parable is a reaction to the word closed in the literary field, on literocentricity; it displays artistic expression in a broader context returning ethical and didactic components to the word. The use of parables leads to almost unlimited opportunities of multi-level reading, it activates the living, intellectual and spiritual experience of the reader to the utmostСтатья посвящена актуальной литературоведческой проблеме жанрового анализа современной прозы. В условиях тотального недоверия к открытому слову архаические модели и сюжетные структуры предоставляют современному писателю возможность сказать о самом главном, избегая пафоса, риторики и дидактики. В качестве объекта исследования избраны произведения В. Маканина о чеченской войне, которые строятся с опорой на интуицию и движение свободной мысли художника, развертывающейся в притчевых формах. Современная притча – реакция на замкнутое в литературном поле слово, на литературоцентричность; она выводит художественное слово в более широкий контекст, возвращая слову этическую, учительную составляющую. Притчевость предоставляет практически неограниченные возможности для многоуровневого прочтения, предельно активизирует житейский, интеллектуальный и духовный опыт читател

Modified swim test as a model of enhanced contextual conditioning during depression: expression of GSK3 beta and effects of antidepressant treatment

peer reviewedaudience: researcher, professionalImpaired brain plasticity is a well-established pathophysiologic feature of depression, but little is known about an enhancement of depression-associated cognitive processing. We studied a novel paradigm that potentially models the augmented acquisition of adverse memories during the development of a depressive-like state in mice. We used a modification of the classic two-day protocol of a mouse Porsolt’s test with an additional session on Day 5 following the initial swim session. On the last day of testing, floating behavior, a parameter of helplessness, was increased in naïve mice that was accompanied by a reduction in the pGSK3b/GSK3b ratio and increased levels of brain GSK3b mRNA. The increase in GSK3b mRNA in prefrontal cortex during delayed testing session correlated with increases in floating behavior, which is not observed in the classic Porsolt’s paradigm. Replacement of the last swim session with exposure to the context of testing resulted in increased GSK3b mRNA level similar to the effect of swimming, while exclusion of the last swim session prevented these changes. The behavioral changes and the alterations in GSK3b gene and protein levels were prevented by 2-week treatment with a low dose of classical antidepressant tricyclic imipramine (7.5 mg/kg/day), or vitamin B1 (thiamine) (200 mg/kg/day), or with the highly bioavailable thiamine precursor benfotiamine (200 mg/kg/day). Our study also demonstrated, for the first time, the antidepressant-like properties of vitamin B1 and its pre-cursor, in a pre-clinical model of depression. Thus, the new forced swim test paradigm models the enhanced contextual conditioning of adverse memories so the individual animals with distinct susceptibility to this syndrome to be differentiated

Crystallographic parameters of compounds and solid solutions in binary systems Cu-Pt and Ga-Pt

The study establishes that the packing index in compounds of the system Cu-Pt is close to the value 0.74 against a slight deviation from the Zen law of atomic volumes. The compounds in the system Ga-Pt have the highest values of the packing index in the range of the equiatomic composition, which greatly exceed ψ for close-packed structures based on FCC and HCP lattices for compounds made of the same kind of atoms. A correlation between singular points on the phase diagram of the system Ga-Pt and high values of the packing index in compounds is established

Thiamine and benfotiamine improve memory, decrease depressive-like behavior and reduce brain expression of GSK3 beta in mice

An increasing body of evidence suggests an implication of altered thiamine metabolism in mental illnesses, including depression and Alzheimer’s disease. Here, we examined the effects of a two-week treatment with thiamine (200 mg/kg/day) or benfotiamine (200 mg/kg/day, a synthetic thiamine precursor of high bioavailability, on learning of C57 mice in step down avoidance (SDA) and fear conditioning (FC) tests and depressive-like behavior in the modified forced swimming test (modFST). In addition, we investigated the effects of these drugs on brain gene expression of Glycogene Synthase Kinase 3beta (GSK3b), a regulatory factor that is involved in both above-mentioned mental conditions. Benfotiamine, but not thiamine significantly increased contextual learning in C57 mice in the step-down paradigm and acquisition of fear conditioning during weak training. Both compounds have improved the extinction of contextual fear conditioning memory and did not alter the acquisition of fear conditioning during strong training. Also, we found that both treatments reduced depressive-like behavior in mice, as shown by diminished duration of floating behavior in the modified forced swim test. With the modified forced swimming test applied here, an additional swimming session was carried out 120 hours after the first trial and resulted in increased mRNA levels of GSK3b in the prefrontal cortex, which correlated with duration of floating in tested mice. Thiamine and benfotiamine reduced GSK3b expression in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus that was more pronounced in the animals with low floating, in case of the measurements made in the prefrontal cortex. Together, these data suggest pro-cognitive and antidepressant-like effect of benfotiamine that are partly shared by thiamine and can be mediated by their inhibitory effect on the GSK3