The permittivity – thickness relationship of a PMN (111) single crystal

In this work, the permittivity measurements of lead magnoniobate PMN (111) single crystals with thicknesses of 400 µm, 25 µm and 10 µm have been carried out at a frequency of 0.1 Hz. The samples in the form of plane-parallel plates were prepared by hand grinding and then their sides were coated with 80 nm Cr-Au electrodes. The topography of the sample surfaces was controlled by AFM. The temperature dependences of the complex permittivity were obtained in the range from 150 to 350 K. The changes in the temperature dependences of ε with varying the thickness of the single crystals were analyzed. The peak on the temperature curve of ε' was shown to shift to a higher temperature with a decrease in the sample’s thickness, and its width increasing significantly. A phenomenological expression was proposed to describe the permittivity ‒ thickness relationship of a single crystal

Anthropogenic Vegetation in the River Valley Amalat

The article presents the results of a research study of anthropogenic affects of gold mining on forest landscapes in Northern Transbaikalia, Russia and processes of natural reclamation of vegetation cover of the disturbed areas. The study area is located northwest of the Maliy Amalat River, which flows along the Vitim Plateau; in the floodplains of its two tributaries the Aunik River and the Bagdarin River. It is an area where a large number of alluvial gold deposits have been discovered. Some of these deposits are currently being developed, some have already been explored, and some have been abandoned. The authors consider the current state of vegetation cover in a key area of the Amalat River basin, near villages of Malovsky and Bagdarin. The problem of natural resources development and conservation is becoming extremely important for the area under study because open-pit gold mining methods that are used here drastically change the environment and affect water, land and forest resources

Використання елементів супрематизму у сучасному дизайні

The article considers suprematism as a stylistic direction of design, its preconditions for origin, authorship and historical aspects. The analysis of the latest research and publications in this direction is carried out. This definition of suprematism as a separate direction in art of the early twentieth century that, as a kind of abstract art, embodied in combinations of colored planes of simple geometrical shapes (geometric forms of straight line, square, circle and rectangle). It was found that balanced asymmetric suprematic compositions were formed when color geometric shapes of different sizes were combined. The author outlines the main philosophical idea of the style as defined by the author of suprematism Kazimir Malevich, which consisted in the final break of painting with the image of the real world, when geometric shapes replaced the real type of objects, to emphasize the emotional impression of the image. Presented by followers of suprematism in art. The main features of the suprematism style, its practical and philosophical significance, and symbolism are established. It is noted that the features of the supremacist style are used in almost all areas of design: architectural design, clothing design, interior design, printing design, accessories design, landscape design, food design, etc. the color scheme, shapes and lines that were used in the supremacist painting are characterized. Examples of decorative and functional use of signs of suprematism in interior design and clothing are given. The results of the study of ways to use elements of the suprematism style in modern design are considered. The relevance of using supremacist elements in the design is proved, thanks to its minimal semantic load and bright accents. У статті розглянуто супрематизм як стильовий напрям дизайну, передумови його виникнення, авторство та історичні аспекти. Проведено аналіз останніх досліджень і публікацій у цьому напрямку. Дано визначення терміну супрематизм як окремого напряму в живописі початку ХХ століття, що, будучи різновидом абстракціонізму, втілювався у комбінаціях різнокольорових площин найпростіших геометричних абрисів (пряма лінія (її товщина і ширина), квадрат, коло, прямокутник). Встановлено, що врівноважені асиметричні супрематичні композиції утворювалися при поєднанні кольорових різних за розміром геометричних фігур. Окреслено головну філософську ідею стилю за визначенням автора супрематизму Казимира Малевича, що полягала у остаточному розриві живопису із зображенням реального світу, коли геометричні фігури заміняли справжній вигляд предметів, для підкреслення емоційного враження від зображуваного. Представлено послідовників супрематизму у художньому мистецтві. Встановлено основні ознаки стилю супрематизм, його практичне і філософське значення, символізм. Зазначено, що особливості супрематичного стилю використовуються практично у всіх напрямках дизайну: архітектурний дизайн, дизайн одягу, дизайн інтер’єру, поліграфічний дизайн, дизайн аксесуарів, ландшафтний дизайн, фуд-дизайн тощо. Охарактеризовано кольорову гаму, форми та лінії, що були застосовані в даному напрямі живопису, наведено приклади декоративного і функціонального використання ознак супрематизму в дизайні інтер’єру та одягу. Розглянуто результати дослідження способів використання елементів стилю супрематизм у сучасному дизайні. Доведено актуальність використання елементів, що притаманні суприматизу як стилю у дизайні завдяки його мінімальному смисловому навантаженню та яскравим акцентам. 

Optimization and qualification of a multiplex bead array to assess cytokine and chemokine production by vaccine-specific cells

The magnitude and functional phenotype (e.g. proliferation, immune stimulation) of the vaccine-induced T-cell responses are likely to be critical in defining responses that can control pathogenic challenge. Current multi-parameter flow cytometric techniques may not be sufficient to measure all of these different functions, since characterizing T-cell responses by flow cytometry is presently limited to concurrent measurement of at most 10 cytokines/chemokines. Here, we describe extensive studies conducted using standardized GCLP procedures to optimize and qualitatively/quantitatively qualify a multiplex bead array (MBA) performed on supernatant collected from stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to assess 12 cytokines and chemokines of interest. Our optimized MBA shows good precision (intra-assay, inter-day, inter-technician; coefficients of variation <30%) and linearity for most of the analytes studied. We also developed positivity criteria that allow us to define a response as positive or negative with a high degree of confidence. In conclusion, we provide a detailed description of the qualification of an MBA, which permits quantitative and qualitative evaluation of vaccine-induced immunogenicity and analysis of immune correlates of protection. This assay provides an excellent complement to the existing repertoire of assays for assessing immunogenicity in HIV vaccine clinical trials