Characteristics of anomalously high multiplicity cosmic ray interactions

Six events with the number of secondaries ranging from 250 to several thousands were registered by an installation consisting of a thin graphite target, above and under which are placed photolayers followed by the usual lead X-ray film and emulsion chambers. Data concerning the number of secondaries and their angular distribution are given. The variance of the angular distribution is compared with data obtained at accelerator energies

Recommendations on reforming the current legislation on the import and export of research materials

The article provides the analysis of the current state in importing and exporting of materials for research and development activity, its problems and prospects of further development. The authors note the imperfection of the legislation in this area and offer a wide range of recommendations for qualitative improvement of the situation. The relevance of the research topic is determined by the fact that in the 21st century the role and place of Russian Federation in the world economy would largely depend on the level of its scientific and technological development, the ability to create and effectively replicate its own achievements and make extensive use of imported high-end technologies, the degree of its presence on the world market of high and new technologies.peer-reviewe

Surface Electrostatics of Lipid Bilayers by EPR of a pH-Sensitive Spin-Labeled Lipid

AbstractMany biophysical processes such as insertion of proteins into membranes and membrane fusion are governed by bilayer electrostatic potential. At the time of this writing, the arsenal of biophysical methods for such measurements is limited to a few techniques. Here we describe a, to our knowledge, new spin-probe electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) approach for assessing the electrostatic surface potential of lipid bilayers that is based on a recently synthesized EPR probe (IMTSL-PTE) containing a reversibly ionizable nitroxide tag attached to the lipids’ polar headgroup. EPR spectra of the probe directly report on its ionization state and, therefore, on electrostatic potential through changes in nitroxide magnetic parameters and the degree of rotational averaging. Further, the lipid nature of the probe provides its full integration into lipid bilayers. Tethering the nitroxide moiety directly to the lipid polar headgroup defines the location of the measured potential with respect to the lipid bilayer interface. Electrostatic surface potentials measured by EPR of IMTSL-PTE show a remarkable (within ±2%) agreement with the Gouy-Chapman theory for anionic DMPG bilayers in fluid (48°C) phase at low electrolyte concentration (50 mM) and in gel (17°C) phase at 150-mM electrolyte concentration. This agreement begins to diminish for DMPG vesicles in gel phase (17°C) upon varying electrolyte concentration and fluid phase bilayers formed from DMPG/DMPC and POPG/POPC mixtures. Possible reasons for such deviations, as well as the proper choice of an electrostatically neutral reference interface, have been discussed. Described EPR method is expected to be fully applicable to more-complex models of cellular membranes

A technology of drinking water decontamination from radon and its decay products

Underground water is one of the main sources of radon for households. This article focuses on the estimation and removal of radon from underground water using the technology and inorganic sorbents developed by EKSORB Ltd., Russia for liquid radioactive waste treatment in the nuclear power industry. The article presents the results of tests of a system for the removal of radon and radon daughters from water patented by EKSORB. This is achieved by filtering water through RATZIR sorbent, followed by periodic load regeneration. Over a period of three years, the plant is successful in removing radon from the water that had an initial radon content of approximately 1500 Bq/L to less than 60 Bq/L, without releasing radon to indoor/outdoor air. © 2020 Igor Voinov et al., published by Sciendo 2020

Exploring low-carbon futures: A web service approach to linking diverse climate-energy-economy models

© 2019 by the authors. The use of simulation models is essential when exploring transitions to low-carbon futures and climate change mitigation and adaptation policies. There are many models developed to understand socio-environmental processes and interactions, and analyze alternative scenarios, but hardly one single model can serve all the needs. There is much expectation in climate-energy research that constructing new purposeful models out of existing models used as building blocks can meet particular needs of research and policy analysis. Integration of existing models, however, implies sophisticated coordination of inputs and outputs across different scales, definitions, data and software. This paper presents an online integration platform which links various independent models to enhance their scope and functionality. We illustrate the functionality of this web platform using several simulation models developed as standalone tools for analyzing energy, climate and economy dynamics. The models differ in levels of complexity, assumptions, modeling paradigms and programming languages, and operate at different temporal and spatial scales, from individual to global. To illustrate the integration process and the internal details of our integration framework we link an Integrated Assessment Model (GCAM), a Computable General Equilibrium model (EXIOMOD), and an Agent Based Model (BENCH). This toolkit is generic for similar integrated modeling studies. It still requires extensive pre-integration assessment to identify the ‘appropriate’ models and links between them. After that, using the web service approach we can streamline module coupling, enabling interoperability between different systems and providing open access to information for a wider community of users