472 research outputs found
Communication of COVID-19 consequences in the Baltic States inforsphere
This article seeks to describe the dynamics of COVID-19 in the Baltic States and to analyse the ways of communicating the threat and its consequences. Particular attention is paid to the media strategies pursued in the study area. The research is based on Russian and English texts from the Baltic media, WHO official documents and datasets, as well as initiatives of the Baltic Sea region organisations (2020) counteracting COVID-19. A combination of these sources builds up an objective view of the situation and demonstrates how the pandemic and its consequences are represented in public consciousness given a certain pragmatic goal. The pandemic is a new type of threat; its consequences demonstrate a tendency towards negative synergy and a category shift from soft threats to hard ones. The research shows that several key strategies - counter-active, projective, conservative, mobilising, resilient, and reflective - are used to communicate the threat and its consequences in the media
Formation of a tourism brand of Rostov region for foreign tourists
The authors of the article focus both on aspects of Linguocultural training of professionals to work with foreign tourists and on the problem of the choice of the tourism brand of Rostov Region, its historical stages, as well as the issue of the lack of a systematic approach to its formatio
Modeling the spectrum of V4334 Sgr (Sakurai's Object)
Theoretical spectral energy distributions were computed for a grid of
hydrogen-deficient and carbon-rich model atmospheres of T(eff) in the range of
5000-6250 K and log g = 1.0 - 0.0 by the technique of opacity sampling, taking
into account continuous, molecular band and atomic line absorption. These
energy distributions were compared with the spectrum of V4334 Sgr (Sakurai's
object) of April, 1997 in the wavelength interval 300-1000 nm. We show that (1)
the shape of the theoretical spectra depends strongly on T(eff) but only very
weakly on the hydrogen abundance; (2) the comparison of the observed and
computed spectra permits to estimate T(eff) approximately 5500 K for V4334 Sgr
in April, 1997, and its interstellar reddening (plus a possible circumstellar
contribution) E(B-V) approximately 0.70.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, LaTeX, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic
Methodological Approach to Application of GIS-Technologies for Epidemiological Surveillance by the Example of Leptospirosis
In order to optimize application of GIS-technologies for studies of leptospirosis, utilized have been the data on epidemiological and epizootiological investigations of leptospirosis cases in Europe, Ukraine, and Crimea. Described has been a methodological approach to the issue, comprising 4 phases and aimed at enhancement of epidemiological surveillance over leptospirosis. The first stage consists in learning the lessons of previously conducted leptospirosis mapping and specification of peculiarities of the territory. The second one is application of GIS-technologies for epidemiological analysis with a view to outlining the criteria for enzootic territory zoning, to assess dynamic qualitative and quantitative changes of epidemiological process, and estimate the impact of socio-ecological factors on the epidemic and epizootic processes. The third phase is databases creation, (attributive charts) compiled with information on geographically referenced phenomena under discussion (natural leptospirosis foci, sites of host-animal allocation, potentially hazardous areas, morbidity rates, etc.). The fourth one - complex analysis of the software designed maps. Implementation of this methodology makes it possible not only to evaluate epidemiological significance of the foci, to investigate integrated impact of socio-ecological factors on the occasion of population exposure to the infection, but also to carry out zoning of the territory taking into consideration epidemically significant factors. Therewith, it forms scientifically substantiated premises for the development and implementation of prophylactic and anti-epidemic measures
INTRATUMORAL AMPLIFICATION HETEROGENEITY IN HER2/neu-POSITIVE BREAST CANCER MOLECULAR-GENETIC SUBTYPES
The defining feature of HER2/neu-positive Luminal B and HER2/neu-positive (non-luminal) subtype breast cancer is HER2/neu gene amplification and protein overexpression on cancer cell membrane. The HER2-targeted therapy is nowadays available for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer However, a significant fraction of HER2+ tumors acquire or possess intrinsic mechanisms of resistance, based on multiple factors, and genetic heterogeneity among them. The aim of our study was to quantify the heterogeneity of HER2/neu amplification in HER2/neu-positive Luminal B and HER2/neu-positive (non-luminal) subtypes of breast cancer. Material and methods. A retrospective analysis of 210 cases referred for dual probe fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) confirmation of an immunohistochemical equivocal 2+ result was performed. Results. Our results demonstrated a heterogeneous amplification pattern of HER2/neu gene, whose expression is a substantial cause of HER2/neu-positive Luminal B and HER2/neu-positive (non-luminal) subtypes of breast cancer, in 31 % of invasive breast cancer cases. As heterogeneous, we interpreted tumors containing cells with HER2/CEP17 ratio < 2 and gene copies 4 ≤ HER2/neu < 6, that is, those without HER2/neu amplification. The amount of heterogeneous tumors between HER2/neu-positive Luminal B and HER2/neu-positive (non-luminal) subtypes was not statistically significant. ROC analyses identified optimal cutoff point for HER2/CEP17 ratio as 2.6 for distinguishing heterogeneous tumors. Conclusion. The heterogeneity of HER2/neu amplification is determined by FISH in 31 % of cases and is independent of molecular breast cancer subtype. If a HER2/neu-positive breast cancer has HER2/CEP17 ratio ≤ 2,6, it contains minor subclones without HER2/neu amplification with a probability of 95 %. Our results demonstrated that HER2/neu amplification heterogeneity may be important for prognosis of survival and treatment decisions
A hot Jupiter transiting a mid-K dwarf found in the pre-OmegaCam Transit Survey
We describe the pre-OmegaTranS project, a deep survey for transiting
extra-solar planets in the Carina region of the Galactic Disk. In 2006-2008 we
observed a single dense stellar field with a very high cadence of ~2min using
the ESO Wide Field Imager at the La Silla Observatory. Using the Astronomical
Wide-field System for Europe and the Munich Difference Imaging Analysis
pipeline, a module that has been developed for this project, we created the
light curves of 16000 stars with more than 4000 data points which we searched
for periodic transit signals using a box-fitting least-squares detection
algorithm. All light curves are publicly available. In the course of the
pre-OmegaTranS project we identified two planet candidates - POTS-1b and
POTS-C2b - which we present in this work. With extensive follow-up observations
we were able to confirm one of them, POTS-1b, a hot Jupiter transiting a mid-K
dwarf. The planet has a mass of 2.31+-0.77M_Jup and a radius of 0.94+-0.04R_Jup
and a period of P=3.16d. The host star POTS-1 has a radius of 0.59+-0.02R_Sun
and a mass of 0.70+-0.05M_Sun. Due to its low apparent brightness of I=16.1mag
the follow-up and confirmation of POTS-1b was particularly challenging and
costly.Comment: 18 pages, 23 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Proton Wires in an Electric Field: the Impact of Grotthuss Mechanism on Charge Translocation
We present the results of the modeling of proton translocation in finite
H-bonded chains in the framework of two-stage proton transport model. We
explore the influence of reorientation motion of protons, as well as the effect
of electric field and proton correlations on system dynamics. An increase of
the reorientation energy results in the transition of proton charge from the
surrounding to the inner water molecules in the chain. Proton migration along
the chain in an external electric field has a step-like character, proceeding
with the occurrence of electric field threshold-type effects and drastic
redistribution of proton charge. Electric field applied to correlated chains
induces first a formation of ordered dipole structures for lower field
strength, and than, with a further field strength increase, a stabilization of
states with Bjerrum D-defects. We analyze the main factors responsible for the
formation/annihilation of Bjerrum defects showing the strong influence of the
complex interplay between reorientation energy, electric field and temperature
in the dynamics of proton wire.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figure
Dynamical Mass Constraints on Low-Mass Pre-Main-Sequence Stellar Evolutionary Tracks: An Eclipsing Binary in Orion with a 1.0 Msun Primary and an 0.7 Msun Secondary
We report the discovery of a double-lined, spectroscopic, eclipsing binary in
the Orion star-forming region. We analyze the system spectroscopically and
photometrically to empirically determine precise, distance-independent masses,
radii, effective temperatures, and luminosities for both components. The
measured masses for the primary and secondary, accurate to ~1%, are 1.01 Msun
and 0.73 Msun, respectively; thus the primary is a definitive pre-main-sequence
solar analog, and the secondary is the lowest-mass star yet discovered among
pre-main-sequence eclipsing binary systems. We use these fundamental
measurements to test the predictions of pre-main-sequence stellar evolutionary
tracks. None of the models we examined correctly predict the masses of the two
components simultaneously, and we implicate differences between the theoretical
and empirical effective temperature scales for this failing. All of the models
predict the observed slope of the mass-radius relationship reasonably well,
though the observations tend to favor models with low convection efficiencies.
Indeed, considering our newly determined mass measurements together with other
dynamical mass measurements of pre-main-sequence stars in the literature, as
well as measurements of Li abundances in these stars, we show that the data
strongly favor evolutionary models with inefficient convection in the stellar
interior, even though such models cannot reproduce the properties of the
present-day Sun.Comment: Accepted by Ap
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