Calculation of Features of Many Row Pile Landslide Protection Structures

Results of investigation of pile many row landslide protection structures are shown. Experimental investigations of the behaviour of many row landslide protection structures are carried out on models in trays with the sandy soil under the action of the lateral landslide soil pressure. Based on results of the experimental investigations, the design scheme is improved and the method of calculation of many row pile landslide protection structures is worked out

Kids football coach`s type as a determining factor of child-footballer`s development

this article provides an author`s classification of basic types of kids football coaches and the conclusion about suitability of certain types of coaches to certain age groups of childrenВ данной статье приведена авторская классификация базовых типов детских футбольных тренеров и сделан вывод о предпочитаемом соответствии данных типов возрастной группе занимающихся дете

Preparation and properties of silicon- and titanium-containing hybrid nanocomposite films based on ethyl cellulose

Nanocomposite hybrid films containing silicon and titanium compounds in the polymer matrix are prepared through the sol-gel method via the hydrolytic polycondensation of Si and Ti alkoxides (tetraethoxysilane and titanium tetrabutoxide) in the THF solution of a hydrophobic polymer, ethyl cellulose. Their structure and properties are studied with the use of a complex of physicochemical methods. During the hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane and the subsequent polycondensation of the reaction products, silicon atoms are incorporated into the polymer and form -O-Si-O-bonds involving hydroxyl groups of ethyl cellulose. In the sol-gel method, titanium alkoxide yields nanosized particles of titanium dioxide that play the role of fillers in the polymer matrix. Titanium-containing films show solubility in THF and, after prolonged contact with the solvent, precipitate titanium dioxide from the solution. Hybrid films containing silicon are insoluble owing to the formation of a chemical network between polymer molecules and Si-OH groups of the products of hydrolysis of silicon alkoxide, as confirmed by the IR data. It is shown that the amounts and types of alkoxides and the diameters of the structures formed in the polymer matrix via the sol-gel procedure affect the hydrophilicity levels of ethyl cellulose hybrid films and their abilities to swell in water and aqueous solutions of organic dyes (brilliant blue and methylene blue). Ethyl cellulose hybrid films are hydrophilic, and they facilitate the removal of dye molecules from aqueous solutions. The best properties are featured by the films containing nanosized particles of titanium dioxide in the polymer matrix. © 2013 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd

Electrical discharges in the atmosphere of Venus

Data received from Venera 11 and 12 experiments involving the electrical activity of the atmosphere of Venus show that the electrical discharges occur in the cloud layer. Their energy is roughly the same as in terrestrial lightning, but with a pulse repetition frequency of the discharges which is much greater

Streptococcus pyogenes: phenomenon of nonimmune binding of human immunoglobulins and its role in pathology

M and M-like proteins represent the main pathogenicity factors of Streptococcus pyogenes, a widely spread and potentially lethal bacterial pathogen. These proteins provide resistance of the microbe to innate and adaptive immune response, due to attraction of specific human proteins to the streptococcal surface. Nonimmune binding of immunoglobulins G (IgG) and A (IgA) via their Fc domains to M and M-like proteins was described over 40 years ago, but its role for the pathogenicity of Streptococcus pyogenes is far from definite resolution. The discovery of this phenomenon should be considered among quite significant achievements of modern microbiology, since it had a huge impact upon development of innovative approaches, technologies and tools for microbiological, immunological and molecular diagnostics. It also promoted fundamental studies in pathogenesis of distinct infectious states and their complications caused by S. pyogenes. The non-immune binding of host immunoglobulins was previously suggested to be important mainly in immune conditions on the surface of mucous membranes and their secretions, but not in blood plasma, whereas other studies have pointed to significance of this phenomenon in protecting microbes from phagocytosis in non-immune blood of the host. It was also shown that the effect of Fc-binding causes increased pathogenicity of streptococci both in primary focus of infection, and during chronical course of the process, thus contributing to development of autoimmune diseases caused by S. pyogenes infection and leading to tissue damage in experimental animals. The experimental autoimmune process can be prevented by administering purified Fc fragments of immunoglobulins to the animals, blocking this process at the early stages of its development. A significant place in pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) belongs to streptococcal diseases. IgAN has been described as a mesangial proliferative process, due to initial IgA-Fcα deposition in renal mesangium cells. The data from literature describe successful modeling of individual IgAN traits, and expand our understanding of pathogenic properties and functions of Fcα binding receptor M proteins of S. pyogenes. The data reviewed in the article also presume the relevance of recently proposed ideas about an important role of non-immune Ig binding in streptococcal diseases, even in cases that differ in their development mechanism. These studies, including possible search for tools and techniques of preventive and potentially therapeutic applications, require additional efforts to study the binding of Fc fragments of IgG and IgA to M and M-like proteins of Streptococcus pyogenes

Dynamics of the Free Surface of a Conducting Liquid in a Near-Critical Electric Field

Near-critical behavior of the free surface of an ideally conducting liquid in an external electric field is considered. Based on an analysis of three-wave processes using the method of integral estimations, sufficient criteria for hard instability of a planar surface are formulated. It is shown that the higher-order nonlinearities do not saturate the instability, for which reason the growth of disturbances has an explosive character.Comment: 19 page

Comparative performance of MRI-derived PRECISE scores and delta-radiomics models for the prediction of prostate cancer progression in patients on active surveillance

Objectives: To compare the performance of the PRECISE scoring system against several MRI-derived delta-radiomics models for predicting histopathological prostate cancer (PCa) progression in patients on active surveillance (AS). // Methods: The study included AS patients with biopsy-proven PCa with a minimum follow-up of 2 years and at least one repeat targeted biopsy. Histopathological progression was defined as grade group progression from diagnostic biopsy. The control group included patients with both radiologically and histopathologically stable disease. PRECISE scores were applied prospectively by four uro-radiologists with 5–16 years’ experience. T2WI- and ADC-derived delta-radiomics features were computed using baseline and latest available MRI scans, with the predictive modelling performed using the parenclitic networks (PN), least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) logistic regression, and random forests (RF) algorithms. Standard measures of discrimination and areas under the ROC curve (AUCs) were calculated, with AUCs compared using DeLong’s test. // Results: The study included 64 patients (27 progressors and 37 non-progressors) with a median follow-up of 46 months. PRECISE scores had the highest specificity (94.7%) and positive predictive value (90.9%), whilst RF had the highest sensitivity (92.6%) and negative predictive value (92.6%) for predicting disease progression. The AUC for PRECISE (84.4%) was non-significantly higher than AUCs of 81.5%, 78.0%, and 80.9% for PN, LASSO regression, and RF, respectively (p = 0.64, 0.43, and 0.57, respectively). No significant differences were observed between AUCs of the three delta-radiomics models (p-value range 0.34–0.77). // Conclusions: PRECISE and delta-radiomics models achieved comparably good performance for predicting PCa progression in AS patients

Solar neutrino detection in a large volume double-phase liquid argon experiment

Precision measurements of solar neutrinos emitted by specific nuclear reaction chains in the Sun are of great interest for developing an improved understanding of star formation and evolution. Given the expected neutrino fluxes and known detection reactions, such measurements require detectors capable of collecting neutrino-electron scattering data in exposures on the order of 1 ktonne yr, with good energy resolution and extremely low background. Two-phase liquid argon time projection chambers (LAr TPCs) are under development for direct Dark Matter WIMP searches, which possess very large sensitive mass, high scintillation light yield, good energy resolution, and good spatial resolution in all three cartesian directions. While enabling Dark Matter searches with sensitivity extending to the "neutrino floor" (given by the rate of nuclear recoil events from solar neutrino coherent scattering), such detectors could also enable precision measurements of solar neutrino fluxes using the neutrino-electron elastic scattering events. Modeling results are presented for the cosmogenic and radiogenic backgrounds affecting solar neutrino detection in a 300 tonne (100 tonne fiducial) LAr TPC operating at LNGS depth (3,800 meters of water equivalent). The results show that such a detector could measure the CNO neutrino rate with ~15% precision, and significantly improve the precision of the 7Be and pep neutrino rates compared to the currently available results from the Borexino organic liquid scintillator detector.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, 6 table

Baby MIND: A magnetised spectrometer for the WAGASCI experiment

The WAGASCI experiment being built at the J-PARC neutrino beam line will measure the difference in cross sections from neutrinos interacting with a water and scintillator targets, in order to constrain neutrino cross sections, essential for the T2K neutrino oscillation measurements. A prototype Magnetised Iron Neutrino Detector (MIND), called Baby MIND, is being constructed at CERN to act as a magnetic spectrometer behind the main WAGASCI target to be able to measure the charge and momentum of the outgoing muon from neutrino charged current interactions.Comment: Poster presented at NuPhys2016 (London, 12-14 December 2016). Title + 4 pages, LaTeX, 6 figure

Baby MIND Experiment Construction Status

Baby MIND is a magnetized iron neutrino detector, with novel design features, and is planned to serve as a downstream magnetized muon spectrometer for the WAGASCI experiment on the T2K neutrino beam line in Japan. One of the main goals of this experiment is to reduce systematic uncertainties relevant to CP-violation searches, by measuring the neutrino contamination in the anti-neutrino beam mode of T2K. Baby MIND is currently being constructed at CERN, and is planned to be operational in Japan in October 2017.Comment: Poster presented at NuPhys2016 (London, 12-14 December 2016). 4 pages, LaTeX, 7 figure