INTERNET COMMUNICATION IN RUSSIA (WORLD INTERNET PROJECT - 2012)

The article presents some results of sociological studies of the Internet communication in modern Russia, conducted within the framework of the World Internet Project (WIP - 2012)

Multi-scale magnetic field structures in an expanding elongated plasma cloud with hot electrons subject to an external magnetic field

We carry out 3D and 2D PIC-simulations of the expansion of a magnetized plasma that initially uniformly fills a half-space and contains a semi-cylindrical region of heated electrons elongated along the surface of the plasma boundary. This geometry is related, for instance, to the ablation of a plane target by a femtosecond laser beam under quasi-cylindrical focusing. We find that the decay of the inhomogeneous plasma--vacuum discontinuity is strongly affected by an external magnetic field parallel to its boundary. We observe various transient phenomena, including the anisotropic scattering of electrons and the accompanying Weibel instability, and reveal various spatial structures of the arising magnetic field and current, including multiple flying apart filaments of a z-pinch type and slowly evolving current sheets with different orientations. The magnitude of the self-generated magnetic field can be of the order of or significantly exceed that of the external one. Such phenomena are expected in the laser and cosmic plasmas, including the explosive processes in the planetary magnetospheres and stellar coronal arches.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, submitted to JP

Dynamic Topography of the Bering Sea

A new mean dynamic topography (MDT) for the Bering Sea is presented. The product is obtained by combining historical oceanographic and atmospheric observations with high-resolution model dynamics in the framework of a variational technique. Eighty percent of the ocean data underlying the MDT were obtained during the last 25 years and include hydrographic profiles, surface drifter trajectories, and in situ velocity observations that were combined with National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) atmospheric climatology. The new MDT quantifies surface geostrophic circulation in the Bering Sea with a formal accuracy of 2-4 cm/s. The corresponding sea surface height (SSH) errors are estimated by inverting the Hessian matrix in the subspace spanned by the leading modes of SSH variability observed from satellites. Comparison with similar products based on in situ observations, satellite gravity, and altimetry shows that the new MDT is in better agreement with independent velocity observations by Argo drifters and moorings. Assimilation of the satellite altimetry data referenced to the new MDT allows better reconstruction of regional circulations in the Bering Sea. Comparisons also indicate that MDT estimates derived from the latest Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment geoid model have more in common with the presented sea surface topography than with the MDTs based on earlier versions of the geoid. The presented MDT will increase the accuracy of calculations of the satellite altimeter absolute heights and geostrophic surface currents and may also contribute to improving the precision in estimating the geoid in the Bering Sea

Burden and geographic distribution of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers in the Russian Federation

BackgroundThe global incidence of lip and oral cavity cancers (OCCs) and oropharyngeal cancers (OPCs) is steadily increasing. While tobacco and alcohol consumption are established risk factors, a considerable proportion of these cancers has become attributed to human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. We aimed to describe the occurrence and identify potential risk factors of OCCs and OPCs across the Russian Federation during 2007-2018.MethodsWe conducted an ecological analysis using publicly accessible data from the P.A. Herzen Moscow Oncology Research Institute. Incidence and mortality rates by jurisdiction were mapped for geospatial analysis. We pre-defined 11 potential contributing risk factors and used univariable and multivariable Poisson regression model with backwards stepwise variable selection to identify associated factors with OCC and OPC.ResultsA total of 190,585 individuals were diagnosed with OCCs and OPCs in Russia between 2007-2018. Non-uniform geographic distribution of cancer cases was noted where the Far Eastern Federal District had the highest rate of OCC and the Central Federal District of OPCs. Districts with high weekly alcohol consumption had significantly higher incidence and mortality rates in both sexes. Districts with high rates of daily smoking had higher incidence of OCC among females, and those with low smoking trends had lower mortality rates for OCCs and OPCs.ConclusionWe detail the burden of OCCs and OPCs across Russia, with the aim of elucidating modifiable risk factors and proposing evidence-based prevention strategies. Tobacco/alcohol sales control measures and smoking/drinking cessation programs should continue to be prioritized as public health measures, especially for females

Tune Deafness: Processing Melodic Errors Outside of Conscious Awareness as Reflected by Components of the Auditory ERP

Tune deafness (TD) is a central auditory processing disorder characterized by the inability to discriminate pitch, reproduce melodies or to recognize deviations in melodic structure, in spite of normal hearing. The cause of the disorder is unknown. To identify a pathophysiological marker, we ascertained a group of severely affected TD patients using the Distorted Tunes Test, an ecologically valid task with a longstanding history, and used electrophysiological methods to characterize the brain's responses to correct and incorrect melodic sequences. As expected, we identified a neural correlate of patients' unawareness of melodic distortions: deviant notes modulated long-latency auditory evoked potentials and elicited a mismatch negativity in controls but not in affected subjects. However a robust P300 was elicited by deviant notes, suggesting that, as in blindsight, TD subjects process stimuli that they cannot consciously perceive. Given the high heritability of TD, these patients may make it possible to use genetic methods to study cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying conscious awareness

Формирование фотоприемных структур ИК-диапазона путем пересыщения кремния теллуром

The Si layers doped with Te up to the concentrations of (3–5)1020 cm–3 have been formed via ion implantation and pulsed laser melting. It is found, 70–90 % of the embedded impurity atoms are in substitution states in the silicon lattice. These layers have revealed significant absorption (35–66 %) in the wavelength λ range of 1100–2500 nm. In this case, the absorption coefficient increases with the λ growth. The absorption spectra of the implanted layers after pulsed laser melting, equilibrium furnace annealing, and rapid thermal annealing have been compared. It is shown that equilibrium furnace annealing increases the photon absorption by 4 % in the wavelength range of 1100–2500 nm in comparison with virgin Si. After rapid thermal annealing, the photon absorption in the IR-range increases only by 2 %.Слои кремния, легированные теллуром до концентраций (3–5)1020 см–3, получены ионной имплантацией с последующим импульсным лазерным отжигом. Показано, что 70–90 % внедренной примеси находится в позиции замещения в решетке кремния. Слои, гиперпересыщенные теллуром, проявляют существенное поглощение (35–66 %) в области длин волн 1100–2500 нм, причем коэффициент поглощения увеличивается с ростом длины волны. Проведено сравнение спектров поглощения имплантированных слоев после лазерного отжига, а также после равновесного и быстрого термического отжигов. Показано, что равновесный отжиг после имплантации ионов теллура увеличивает поглощение фотонов в области длин волн 1100–2500 нм на 4 % по сравнению с неимплантированным кремнием. После быстрого термического отжига поглощение в ИК-области возрастает лишь на 2 %

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival