The Distant Heart: Mediating Long-Distance Relationships through Connected Computational Jewelry

In the world where increasingly mobility and long-distance relationships with family, friends and loved-ones became commonplace, there exists a gap in intimate interpersonal communication mediated by technology. Considering the advances in the field of mediation of relationships through technology, as well as prevalence of use of jewelry as love-tokens for expressing a wish to be remembered and to evoke the presence of the loved-one, developments in the new field of computational jewelry offer some truly exciting possibilities. In this paper we investigate the role that the jewelry-like form factor of prototypes can play in the context of studying effects of computational jewelry in mediating long-distance relationships

An Unregularized Third Order Newton Method

In this paper, we propose a third-order Newton's method which in each iteration solves a semidefinite program as a subproblem. Our approach is based on moving to the local minimum of the third-order Taylor expansion at each iteration, rather than that of the second order. We show that this scheme has local cubic convergence. We then provide numerical experiments comparing this scheme to some standard algorithms.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figure

The Role of Nanoanalytics in the Development of Organic-Inorganic Nanohybrids—Seeing Nanomaterials as They Are

The functional properties of organic-inorganic (O-I) hybrids can be easily tuned by combining system components and parameters, making this class of novel nanomaterials a crucial element in various application fields. Unfortunately, the manufacturing of organic-inorganic nanohybrids still suffers from mechanical instability and insufficient synthesis reproducibility. The control of the composition and structure of nanosurfaces themselves is a specific analytical challenge and plays an important role in the future reproducibility of hybrid nanomaterials surface properties and response. Therefore, appropriate and sufficient analytical methodologies and technical guidance for control of their synthesis, characterization and standardization of the final product quality at the nanoscale level should be established. In this review, we summarize and compare the analytical merit of the modern analytical methods, viz. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), RAMAN spectroscopy, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and several mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques, that is, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), single particle ICP-MS (sp-ICP-MS), laser ablation coupled ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) utilized for characterization of O-I nanohybrids. Special attention is given to laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) as a reliable nanoanalytical platform for characterization of O-I hybrid nanomaterials, their quality, design verification and validation

Crossfit in the introduction of the All-Russian sports complex TRP

In this article it is spoken about instilling love for a healthy lifestyle, peculiarities of implementation of crossfit and its benefitsВ данной статье говорится о привитии любви к здоровому образу жизни, об особенностях внедрения кроссфита и его польз

Towards hybrid one-pot/one-electrode Pd-NPs-based nanoreactors for modular biocatalysis

Here, fundamental aspects affecting template-assisted engineering of oxidase-associated peroxide oxidation co-catalysis of the modeled microanalytical system based on the hybrid palladium nanoparticles (Pd-NPs) with tailored functional properties were studied. By an accurate tuning and validation of the experimental setup, a modular Pd-NPs-doped one-pot/one-electrode amperometric nanobiosensor for advanced multiplex analyte detection was constructed. The specific operational conditions (electrochemical read-out mode, pH, regeneration procedure) of the modular one-pot/one-electrode nanobiosensor allowed a reliable sensing of L-lactate (with linear dynamic range, LDR = 500 µM – 2 mM, R2 = 0.977), D-glucose (with LDR = 200 µM – 50 mM, R2 = 0.987), hydrogen peroxide (with LDR = 20 µM – 100 mM, R2 = 0.998) and glutaraldehyde (with LDR = 1 – 100 mM, R2 = 0.971). In addition, mechanistic aspects influencing the performance of Pd-NPs-doped one-pot/one-electrode for multiplex analyte sensing were studied in detail. The designed one-pot/one-electrode amperometric nanobiosensor showed a thin layer electrochemical behavior that greatly enhanced electron transfer between the functional hybrid layer and the electrode. Finally, a specific regeneration procedure of the hybrid one-pot/one-electrode and algorithm towards its usage for modular biocatalysis were developed. The reported strategy can readily be considered as a guideline towards the fabrication of commercialized nanobiosensors with tailored properties for advanced modular biocatalysis

Original Vs Borrowed: The Borrowing Mechanism in the Russian Seminary Poetry of the Second Half of the 18th Century (Based on the Materials from the Tver Theological Seminary)

The article discusses one of the peculiarities of the Russian seminary versifying – the practice of borrowing from other poems. Based on the materials of printed editions and manuscripts of the Tver Theological Seminary, the author of the article shows that in the second half of the 18th century, when composing occasional poetry, seminarians regularly turned to borrowing from earlier school essays and gives examples of various borrowing methods.В статье рассматривается одна из особенностей русского семинарского стихотворства – практика заимствований из других стихотворений. На основе материалов печатных изданий и рукописей Тверской духовной семинарии (и дополнительно – Ярославской духовной семинарии) автор статьи показывает, что во второй половине XVIII века при сочинении окказиональной поэзии семинаристы регулярно обращались к заимствованию из более ранних школьных сочинений и приводит примеры различных методов заимствования

ORNAMENTAL CIRCLES ON THE SHROUDS OF THE FRESCOES IN THE CATHEDRAL OF THE NATIVITY OF THE VIRGIN, THE ST. FERAPONT MONASTERY: SACRAL SYMBOLS AND LITURGICAL PRACTICES VISUALIZED

This article describes the wall-painting cycle of ornamental circles on the hanging shrouds which decorate the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin in the St. Ferapont Monastery. Painted in 1502 by the artel of Dionysius, the frescoes represent the earliest extant tier of shrouds among the works of Old Russian monumental art. The iconography and symbolism of hanging shrouds in the church space are well-known, but the reasons why the ornamental circles appeared on the shrouds as well as their semantics and the idea of a special solution Dionysius had made for the tier are among insufficiently studied issues. The background tonality behind the shrouds, the compositional and rhythmic arrangement and the number of circles are analyzed. By referring to iconographic parallels in Judaic ossuaries and Old Russian sarcophagi and church decorations, the conclusion is made that the ornamental circles had the most ancient origin and the peculiar sacral significance; the unique is the conceptual solution proposed by Dionysius: the symbolism of the Byzantine liturgical hours could be reflected in his interpretation of the shrouds

Patterns of Bioelectrical Brain Activity of Stroke Patients after Using Neurofeedback in the Rehabilitation Process

Background: Stroke patients develop the ability to perform higher levels of functional activity on basis of concentrated rehabilitative training which affects sensory, motor and cognitive functions. Objective: The main aim of our work was to show the usefullness of neurofeedback therapy in rehabilitation of stroke patients. Design: 27 stroke patients with severe disabilitis were included in the pilot study (men aged 32 to 68 years, mean age 52.4 ± 3.29 years, median 57 years). They all underwent complex study of brain bioelectrical activity EEG and 15 trainings of neurofeedback. Results: By the end of the rehabilitation (after 17 sessions) recollection of psychotrauma led to an increase in the power of the alpha rhythm in both left and right hemispheres. Atthe endpoint of the study differences in the power of the alpha rhythm in the left hemisphere were 1.47 times greater, and in the right hemisphere, 1.95 times greater than at the first visit. The regress of theta rhythm (1.25 times in the left, 1.11 times in the right hemisphere) decreased considerable, which affected the alpha / thetaratio - decreased 1.04 times in the left, 1.18 times in the right hemisphere, and also the coefficient (alpha + theta) / beta - decreased 1.17 times in the left and 1.21 times in the right. Differences in the saturation of blood vessels index at the last visit were 1.69 times greater than at the first visit. Neurophysiological changes correlated with an improvement in the emotional shpere. By the time of discharge, the indicators on the Beck depression scale decreased by 1.4 times, on the Spielberger-Khanin scale, situational anxiety decreased by 1.63 times, personal anxiety - by 1.4 times; regression of indicators in the hospital scale of anxiety and depression (HADS) was observed in 1.89 times. Conclusion: The data presented indicate that the use of the neurofeedbackmethod leads to a reduction of anxiety-depressive disorders, which positively affects the usefulness of combine rehabilitation. Keywords: stroke, neurofeedback, electroencephalogram, alpha rhythm, rehabilitation