Interaction of hydrogen with impurities in group IVB metals

The energetics of hydrogen bonding with Group IVB metals and the interaction of hydrogen with impurities of 3d-transition and simple metals (Al, Ga, Si, Ge) have been investigated using the projector-augmented-wave (PAW) method within the framework of the density functional theory (DFT). It has been found that the solubility of hydrogen in Ti, Zr, and Hf increases upon their alloying with metals located in the middle of the 3d period. The relationship between the interaction energy of hydrogen with impurities, the lattice distortions, and the electronic structure of the studied systems has been analyzed. It has been shown that impurities do not affect the preferred hydrogen sorption positions in titanium but can change these positions in zirconium and hafnium. The influence of impurities and hydrogen on the electronic structure of metals has been examined. The obtained results have demonstrated that, in the studied metals, the interactions of hydrogen with impurities of 3d-transition and simple metals are determined by different mechanisms: the attraction of hydrogen by transition metal impurities is caused by the size effect, whereas the repulsion of hydrogen by simple metals can be associated with the electronic factors

Psychological Readiness of Students for Joint Activity as Autonomous Actors in Online Education

The higher educational reform being currently in progress calls for the creation of an open digital educational space, which makes the joint activity of autonomous actors a topical issue, as it is central to the online educational process. In order to be able to actively and effectively participate in online education, students of higher educational institutions need to have formed a psychological readiness for carrying out joint as autonomous actors in online learning.This article analyses the problem of students’ psychological readiness for joint activity as autonomous actors in the process of online education and discusses theoretical and practical aspects of online education in higher school. It also reports empirical research carried out by the authors in order to classify students into groups with different levels of psychological readiness for joint activity based on the criteria of autonomy and jointness.The methods for this research included interviews and questionnaire surveys, as they allowed us to identify the indicators of autonomy and jointness of activity.The article describes indicators of low-level and high-level autonomy in the process of online education and joint activity. Based on these indicators, the authors describe different types of students with different levels of motivational, volitional and communicational readiness for joint activity as autonomous actors.Our research enables us to argue that in the process of online education it is possible to create conditions for students to develop a high-level psychological readiness for joint activity as autonomous actors

Joint Activity of Autonomous Actors in an Open Educational Environment

Recently, a considerable literature has grown up around the theme of the transition to the digital economy, the increasing value of the individual with unique features and the ability for self-conscious activity. In order to improve the quality of teaching, it is necessary to develop a methodology of targeted application in the education of jointly distributed activities, characteristic of modern youth.In this regard, this article aims at the development of the assessment criteria and identification of actor’s autonomy levels and their joint activities in the educational process, and definition of methods for organizing jointly distributed activities of autonomous actors in the education.The leading methods in the study were monitoring the activities of teachers and students in social networks, especially on educational communication platforms, identifying and comparing the characteristics of these activities; analysis of the products of educational activities of students interacting in educational networks; expert assessments to determine the level of quality of the achieved results.The article justifies the criteria of assessment of the levels of the educational actors’ autonomy and their activities, developed the methods of organizing jointly distributed activities of autonomous actors of the educational process and revealed the possibility of changing their functional roles depending on the type of their interaction.The materials presented in the article allow creating the organizational and methodological conditions for the formation of virtual training groups, taking into account the level of preparedness of autonomous actors for joint educational activities in order to improve the quality of teaching

Interaction of hydrogen with impurities in group IVB metals

The energetics of hydrogen bonding with Group IVB metals and the interaction of hydrogen with impurities of 3d-transition and simple metals (Al, Ga, Si, Ge) have been investigated using the projector-augmented-wave (PAW) method within the framework of the density functional theory (DFT). It has been found that the solubility of hydrogen in Ti, Zr, and Hf increases upon their alloying with metals located in the middle of the 3d period. The relationship between the interaction energy of hydrogen with impurities, the lattice distortions, and the electronic structure of the studied systems has been analyzed. It has been shown that impurities do not affect the preferred hydrogen sorption positions in titanium but can change these positions in zirconium and hafnium. The influence of impurities and hydrogen on the electronic structure of metals has been examined. The obtained results have demonstrated that, in the studied metals, the interactions of hydrogen with impurities of 3d-transition and simple metals are determined by different mechanisms: the attraction of hydrogen by transition metal impurities is caused by the size effect, whereas the repulsion of hydrogen by simple metals can be associated with the electronic factors

Atomic self-diffusion in TiNi

The projector augmented wave method was applied to investigate the energetics of point defect formation at finite temperatures and the Ni-vacancy jumps in the intermetallic B2-TiNi alloy. It was shown that the effective formation energy of the Ni-vacancy (1.14 eV) is significantly lower than that of Ti-vacancy (1.74 eV); however, the antistructural atoms are dominant defects irrespective of alloy composition. The obtained results reveal that the migration barrier of the Ni-vacancy to the nearest-neighbor site is less (0.19 eV) than that for the Ni-vacancy jump to the next-nearest-neighbor site (1.64 eV). The Ni-vacancy implements two sequential nearest-neighbor jumps with short-lived intermediate configuration and some of such jumps initiate six-jump cycles of the Ni-vacancy along [0 0 1] and [1 1 0] directions with [0 0 1] bent mechanism as preferential one. In the latter case the calculated migration barrier of 0.82 eV is found to be in good agreement with experiment. The energy barrier for four-jump cycle flat mechanism is calculated by 0.27 eV higher. It is shown that the Ni-vacancy diffusion in B2-TiNi is strongly dominated by both six-jump cycle [0 0 1] bent and flat mechanisms at low temperatures but the contribution of the next-nearest-neighbor jumps become important with temperature increase

Efficiency of Urban Development under High-rise Construction of Districts

In article the problem of irrationally organized massive shabby, including emergency quarters on the example of St. Petersburg reveals. The goal of research: to offer a method of development (renovation) of urban areas by construction of quarters from exclusively high-rise buildings. Because of building of high-rise objects, considered quarters can assume more modern air, increase in the housing areas by 10 times not less in comparison with the previous indicators of this territory, the improved infrastructure of the area, and as a result, emergence of new workplaces. Authors made the analysis of economic indicators of the investment project. The minimum term, for which saved-up income exceeds initial investments (a project payback period) made 2.3 years. The analysis of risks is presented in this articl

Efficiency of Urban Development under High-rise Construction of Districts

In article the problem of irrationally organized massive shabby, including emergency quarters on the example of St. Petersburg reveals. The goal of research: to offer a method of development (renovation) of urban areas by construction of quarters from exclusively high-rise buildings. Because of building of high-rise objects, considered quarters can assume more modern air, increase in the housing areas by 10 times not less in comparison with the previous indicators of this territory, the improved infrastructure of the area, and as a result, emergence of new workplaces. Authors made the analysis of economic indicators of the investment project. The minimum term, for which saved-up income exceeds initial investments (a project payback period) made 2.3 years. The analysis of risks is presented in this articl

Interstitial electrical stimulation for middle-aged, and elderly adults with early stages of knee osteoarthritis

of early stages of deforming osteoarthritis of the knee joint. There is a need to explore the effectiveness and mechanisms of modern methods of electrical therapy and their impact on the quality of life due to close cause-and-effect relationship between the pain, inflammatory and destructive components of osteoarthritis (OA) as one of the most common conditions. The objective was to evaluate the effect of interstitial electrical stimulation (IES) as a monotherapy in the course of conservative treatment of early stages of gonarthrosis based on clinical and biochemical findings. Materials and methods Radiographic findings, skin electrometry (objective parameters of pain intensity), limb weight-bearing capacity, biochemical parameters of connective tissue matrix degradation in blood serum and 24-hour urine samples, and treatment satisfaction were explored in 43 patients. Patients who received a course of IES were assigned to the treatment group (n = 22) and patients who received standard treatment without IES constituted the control group (n = 21). Results Electrometric analysis showed a higher effectiveness of pain relief in the treatment group compared to the controls with asymmetry coefficient measuring 3.2 ± 0.31 versus 1.9 ± 0.4 at p > 0.05. The weight‑bearing scored 3.59 ± 0.34 versus 3.26 ± 0.2 at p > 0.05. The treatment group showed shorter treatment length with 13.21 ± 1.2 days versus 18.3 ± 1.2 days in the control group at p > 0.05 and a higher degree of satisfaction with outcomes scored 96.2 ± 2.59 in the treatment group versus 86.2 ± 3.17 in the control group. A statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) was established in the levels of free and total hydroxyproline characterizing the different intensity of collagen breakdown in the groups at the end of treatment. Discussion The IES used as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory therapy was shown to be highly effective with changes in the hydroxyproline level in the media suggesting a chondroprotective effect. The analysis and comparison of objective parameters demonstrated high effectiveness of IES in the treatment of early stages of gonarthrosis in middle-aged and elderly adults. Conclusion The IES used for treatment of early stages of gonarthrosis helps pain reducing the intensity of collagen destruction and improving weight-bearing

Magnetic properties of phosphate-bridged copper(II) organic-inorganic hybrid compounds

Hydrothermal synthesis has allowed us to isolate and characterize three new inorganic organic hybrid materials, the compounds [Cu-2(phen)(2)(H2O)(2)(H2PO4)(2)](NO3)(2).2H(2)O (1), [(Cu(2)bipy(2))(2)(V4O9)(PO4)(2)(HPO4)(H2P2O7)](n).nH(2)O (2) and [Cu-2(dpa)(2)(V2P2O12)](n), (4), which have been magneto-structurally characterized. In addition, the magnetic behaviour of the related compound [Cu-2(bipy)(2)(VO2)(2)(PO4)(2)](n) (3), has been measured. Compound 1 has a dimeric structure, while compound 2 and 4 have dimer chain structures. The dependence of the magnetic susceptibility on temperature suggests antiferromagnetic coupling for 1, 2 and 3, while compound 4 can be well understood in terms of the Curie-Weiss law with theta = -23 K. The fitting of the magnetic behaviour to the Bleaney-Bowers spin-dimer coupling expression leads to J = -8.0 cm(-1) for 1, J = -28.8 cm(-1) for 2 and J = -29.0 cm(-1) for 3. The use of alternating chain expressions leads to J = -28.8 cm(-1), alpha = -0.03 for 2 and J = -29.4 cm(-1), alpha = -0.027 for 3. Although a variety of coordination geometries are exhibited by the compounds in the series, all of them have O-P-O bridges connecting the cupric centres. It was possible to identify the role of the vanadyl groups of the phosphovanadate framework as an important factor affecting the ability of the phosphate groups to transmit magnetic interactions