Composition of a gas and ash mixture formed during the pyrolysis and combustion of coal-water slurries containing petrochemicals.

This paper presents the results of experimental research into the component composition of gases and ash residue from the combustion of a set of high-potential coal-water slurries containing petrochemicals. We have established that the use of slurry fuels provides a decrease in the CO2, CH4, SO2, and NOx concentrations as compared to those from coal combustion. The content of carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the gas environment from the combustion of slurries is higher due to the intense water evaporation. It is shown that adding biomass allows a further 5-33% reduction in the emissions of nitrogen and sulfur oxides as compared to the coal-water slurry and the composition with added waste turbine oil and a 23-68% decrease as compared to coal (per unit mass of the fuel burnt). The mechanisms and stages of CO2, SO2, and NOx formation are explained with a view to controlling gaseous anthropogenic emissions and ash buildup. The values of the relative environmental performance indicator are calculated for slurry fuels. It is shown to exceed the same indicator of bituminous coal by 28-56%.

[Nutrition and body composition in young women with various leptin and ghrelin levels].

Body mass and its composition depend on the energy equilibrium due to the consumption of energy-intensive macronutrients and energy expenditure under strict neuroendocrine control. Leptin and ghrelin are the most important regulators of the energy balance; they modulate the redistribution of substrate flows in metabolic pathways. The aim of the research was the assessment of nutrient intake in conjunction with the analysis of body composition and primarily hormonal regulators of energy balance in young women with various body mass index (BMI) values. Material and methods. 88 girls aged 18-22 were examined. Based on the definition of BMI, three groups were formed: group 1 - young women with BMI <18.5 kg/m2, underweight (UW); group 2 - BMI of 18.5 to <24.9 kg/m2, normal weight (NW); and group 3 - BMI of >24.9 kg/m2, overweight (OW). Body composition was determined using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Nutrition was assessed using the 24-hour food recall. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure leptin and ghrelin concentrations. Results. The study of nutrition in young women with various energy balances revealed intergroup differences in macronutrient and calorie intake. Underweight students demonstrated insufficient consumption of energy (1267±114 kcal/day) from all macronutrients. Overweight and obese young women ate a lot and consumed higher than daily average amounts of proteins (95.7±8.5 g) and fats (129.5±12.2 g). Young women with normal body weight consumed excess energy from fats - 33.7±1.1% (the same as in overweight subjects - 39.3±2.4%), but the relative carbohydrate and protein intake was below recommended level. An excess of energy consumed with food reflected in the degree of adipose tissue development and the energy balance of the examined persons. Leptin concentration increased at higher BMI values and depended on adipose tissue level, amounting to 5.0 [4.2; 5.7], 14.2 [9.7; 14.7] and 20.3 [14.8; 21.3] pg/ml (p<0.009). Ghrelin level was 13.0-14.2% higher in overweight subjects (2.09 [2.00; 2.27] ng/ml) vs. other groups (p<0.003). Conclusion. Students with various BMI values demonstrated various dependences between macronutrient consumption and body composition. The results show that fat intake play a more important role in adipose tissue formation in young women than diet carbohydrates. Overweight and obese subjects have additional regulation factors associated with a stressed regulatory system.

Effects of plant additives on the concentration of sulfur and nitrogen oxides in the combustion products of coal-water slurries containing petrochemicals.

The active use of solid fossil fuels (coal) in the production of heat and electricity has led to significant pollution, climate change, environmental degradation, and an increase in morbidity and mortality. Many countries (in particular, European ones, China, Japan, the USA, Canada, etc.) have launched programs for using plant and agricultural raw materials to produce heat and electricity by burning them instead of or together with traditional fuels. It is a promising solution to produce slurry fuels, based on a mixture of coal processing, oil refining and agricultural waste. This paper presents the results of experimental research into the formation and assessment of the most hazardous emissions (sulfur and nitrogen oxides) from the combustion of promising coal slurry fuels with straw, sunflower and algae additives, i.e. the most common agricultural waste. A comparative analysis has been carried out to identify the differences in the concentrations of sulfur and nitrogen oxides from the combustion of typical coal, coal processing waste, as well as fuel slurries with and without plant additives. It has been shown that the concentration of sulfur and nitrogen oxides can be reduced by 62-87% and 12-57%, respectively, when using small masses of plant additives (no more than 10 wt%) and maintaining high combustion heat of the slurry fuel. However, the use of algae and straw in the slurry composition can increase the HCl emissions, which requires extra measures to fight corrosion. A generalizing criterion of slurry fuel vs. coal efficiency has been formulated to illustrate significant benefits of adding plant solid waste to coal-water slurries containing petrochemicals. Straw and sunflower waste (10 wt%) were found to be the best additives to reduce the air pollutant emissions.

[The treatment efficacy of disturbed swallowing function in patients with ischemic stroke and neurogenous dysfagia in the intensive care unit]. / Éffektivnost' lecheniia narushennoi funktsii glotaniia u patsientov s ishemicheskim insul'tom i neirogennoi disfagiei v ramkakh otdeleniia reanimatsii i intensivnoi terapii.

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of the training method of rehabilitation of patients with neurogenic dysphagia in ischemic stroke carried out with the use of special nutrient mixtures as part of combination therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 65 patients (35 men and 30 women, aged 45 to 80 years) with dysphagia in the acute period of ischemic stroke. Thirty patients were treated with special binding compounds as part of a combination therapy. Thirty-five patients did not use the mixture. The dynamics of the recovery function of swallowing using PAS (the Penetration-Aspiration Scale) and FEDSS (the Fiberoptic Endoscopic Dysphagia Severity Scale), as well as the transition from tube to independent feeding were studied. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The training method of rehabilitation with the help of special nutritional mixtures allows achieving significantly better indicators of restoration of swallowing function assessed with PAS and FEDSS in patients with ischemic stroke and neurogenic dysphagia. This trend is most pronounced in the group of patients with pseudobulbar syndrome. The application of the training method leads to a significantly better transition from tube to independent feeding. Tracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation are an additional factor aggravating swallowing disorders.

Droplet state and mechanism of contact line movement on laser-textured aluminum alloy surfaces.

HYPOTHESIS: Contact line movement over laser-textured metal alloy surfaces depends on the texture, droplet state, inversion of wettability, and liquid flow rate. EXPERIMENTS: Ordered and anisotropic textures were created by a nanosecond pulse laser on aluminum-magnesium alloy surfaces. Microrelief was studied on a profilometer and scanning electron microscope. Changes in wetting properties and the characteristics of spreading were obtained. To implement wetting cycles, liquid was dispensed with a syringe pump using the bottom-up method. FINDINGS: The results provide new, in-depth knowledge to understand the mechanisms of the contact line movement on laser-textured metal surfaces. We have shown that by creating a texture with given parameters (ordered or anisotropic), it is possible to predict a change in wettability from superhydrophilic to hydrophobic, as well as a droplet state. In this paper, we have demonstrated that the contact angle hysteresis determines not only the deviation of the contact angle from equilibrium, but also the adhesion force between the droplet and the surface, a droplet state (Wenzel or Cassie-Baxter), and the wetting anisotropy of local areas on laser-textured alloy. We have recorded two states of the droplet on formed textures: the Wenzel with air cushions on anisotropic and the Wenzel with complete filling of cavities with water on ordered textures.

[The radicular cyst in the maxillary sinus encountered in the clinical otorhinolaryngological practice]. / Radikuliarnaia kista verkhnei cheliusti v praktike otorinolaringologa.

This article was designed to report the clinical case of the radicular cyst localized in the maxillary sinus of the 23 year-old man that had been detected before the surgical intervention was undertaken for its treatment. In the preceding visits of the patient to other medical settings, this condition was misinterpreted as a genuine (rhinogenic) cyst. It accounted for the choice of the inadequate surgical strategy for the management of this pathology. As a result, the patient experienced two relapse episodes of the disease. The thorough analysis of the patient's medical history and CT images of the sinus obtained during the 4 year follow up period allowed to establish the definitive diagnosis of odontogenic cyst of the upper jaw. The authors present a brief overview of the relevant scientific literature concerning etiology and pathogenesis as well as the methods of diagnostics and treatment of radicular cyst of the upper jaw.

[Morphophysiological and Behavioral Adaptations of Elk to Wintering].

This paper studies morphometric parameters (body weight, weight of internal organs, body size, etc.) in 170 elk of various sex and age obtained in the Vyatka taiga area in winter. A number of physiological parameters (specific metabolism and thermal conductivity, heat loss rate, etc.) characterizing the metabolic rate and energy balance in the body were calculated for model animals (calf, male, and female). It is noted that in the transition from the first to the second half of winter the specific metabolism in model animals decreased from 20.6, 16.9, and 15.9 to 18.7, 15.4, and 14.5 kcal/(kg day), respectively. It is shown that changes in the rhythm of motor activity of elk are synchronized with the daily air temperature and the maximum flight distance depends on the amount of energy received by the body with food.

Eribulin mesilate suppresses experimental metastasis of breast cancer cells by reversing phenotype from epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) to mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) states.

BACKGROUND: Eribulin mesilate (eribulin), a non-taxane microtubule dynamics inhibitor, has shown trends towards greater overall survival (OS) compared with progression-free survival in late-stage metastatic breast cancer patients in the clinic. This finding suggests that eribulin may have additional, previously unrecognised antitumour mechanisms beyond its established antimitotic activity. To investigate this possibility, eribulin's effects on the balance between epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) in human breast cancer cells were investigated. METHODS: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells, which are oestrogen receptor (ER-)/progesterone receptor (PR-)/human epithelial growth receptor 2 (HER2-) and have a mesenchymal phenotype, were treated with eribulin for 7 days, followed by measurement of EMT-related gene and protein expression changes in the surviving cells by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and immunoblot, respectively. In addition, proliferation, migration, and invasion assays were also conducted in eribulin-treated cells. To investigate the effects of eribulin on TGF-ß/Smad signalling, the phosphorylation status of Smad proteins was analysed. In vivo, the EMT/MET status of TNBC xenografts in mice treated with eribulin was examined by qPCR, immunoblot, and immunohistochemical analysis. Finally, an experimental lung metastasis model was utilised to gauge the metastatic activity of eribulin-treated TNBC in the in vivo setting. RESULTS: Treatment of TNBC cells with eribulin in vitro led to morphological changes consistent with transition from a mesenchymal to an epithelial phenotype. Expression analyses of EMT markers showed that eribulin treatment led to decreased expression of several mesenchymal marker genes, together with increased expression of several epithelial markers. In the TGF-ß induced EMT model, eribulin treatment reversed EMT, coincident with inhibition of Smad2 and Smad3 phosphorylation. Consistent with these changes, TNBC cells treated with eribulin for 7 days showed decreased capacity for in vitro migration and invasiveness. In in vivo xenograft models, eribulin treatment reversed EMT and induced MET as assessed by qPCR, immunoblot, and immunohistochemical analyses of epithelial and mesenchymal marker proteins. Finally, surviving TNBC cells pretreated in vitro with eribulin for 7 days led to decreased numbers of lung metastasis when assessed in an in vivo experimental metastasis model. CONCLUSIONS: Eribulin exerted significant effects on EMT/MET-related pathway components in human breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, consistent with a phenotypic switch from mesenchymal to epithelial states, and corresponding to observed decreases in migration and invasiveness in vitro as well as experimental metastasis in vivo. These preclinical findings may provide a plausible scientific basis for clinical observations of prolonged OS by suppression of further spread of metastasis in breast cancer patients treated with eribulin.

Ion optics of RHIC electron beam ion source.

RHIC electron beam ion source has been commissioned to operate as a versatile ion source on RHIC injection facility supplying ion species from He to Au for Booster. Except for light gaseous elements RHIC EBIS employs ion injection from several external primary ion sources. With electrostatic optics fast switching from one ion species to another can be done on a pulse to pulse mode. The design of an ion optical structure and the results of simulations for different ion species are presented. In the choice of optical elements special attention was paid to spherical aberrations for high-current space charge dominated ion beams. The combination of a gridded lens and a magnet lens in LEBT provides flexibility of optical control for a wide range of ion species to satisfy acceptance parameters of RFQ. The results of ion transmission measurements are presented.

Development of electron beam ion source charge breeder for rare isotopes at Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade.

Recently, the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) to the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) was commissioned and became available for production of rare isotopes. Currently, an electron cyclotron resonance ion source is used as a charge breeder for CARIBU beams. To further increase the intensity and improve the purity of neutron-rich ion beams accelerated by ATLAS, we are developing a high-efficiency charge breeder for CARIBU based on an electron beam ion source (EBIS). The CARIBU EBIS charge breeder will utilize the state-of-the-art EBIS technology recently developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The electron beam current density in the CARIBU EBIS trap will be significantly higher than that in existing operational charge-state breeders based on the EBIS concept. The design of the CARIBU EBIS charge breeder is nearly complete. Long-lead components of the EBIS such as a 6-T superconducting solenoid and an electron gun have been ordered with the delivery schedule in the fall of 2011. Measurements of expected breeding efficiency using the BNL Test EBIS have been performed using a Cs(+) surface ionization ion source for external injection in pulsed mode. In these experiments we have achieved ∼70% injection∕extraction efficiency and breeding efficiency into the most abundant charge state of ∼17%.

Collimation with hollow electron beams.

A novel concept of controlled halo removal for intense high-energy beams in storage rings and colliders is presented. It is based on the interaction of the circulating beam with a 5-keV, magnetically confined, pulsed hollow electron beam in a 2-m-long section of the ring. The electrons enclose the circulating beam, kicking halo particles transversely and leaving the beam core unperturbed. By acting as a tunable diffusion enhancer and not as a hard aperture limitation, the hollow electron beam collimator extends conventional collimation systems beyond the intensity limits imposed by tolerable losses. The concept was tested experimentally at the Fermilab Tevatron proton-antiproton collider. The first results on the collimation of 980-GeV antiprotons are presented.

[First experience with outpatient shock-wave lithotripsy].

Clinical experience with administration of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) in an outpatient clinic demonstrates feasibility of urolith fragmentation in some patients using certain lithotriptors. Concrements can be removed from about 97.0% patients without their hospitalization.

[On the structure of rodent communities in tropical forests of Southern Vietnam].

The abundance, species diversity, and spatial distribution of small mammals were studied in two localities in southern Vietnam: the Cat Tien National Park and the Binh Chau Nature Reserve. Rodents were trapped on the ground and in the tropical forest canopy (2-12 m above the ground), marked, and released on the spot. Species diversity of small mammals in undisturbed tropical forest (9 species) was higher than in disturbed tropical forest (14 species). The rat Maxomys surifer and the squirrel Callosciurus flavimanus were dominant. In undisturbed forest, the frequencies of rodent occurrence on the ground and in the canopy were of the same order; in disturbed forest, rodents occurred in the canopy an order of magnitude less frequently than on the ground.

Experimental demonstration of colliding-beam-lifetime improvement by electron lenses.

We report the successful application of space-charge forces of a low-energy electron beam for improvement of particle lifetime determined by beam-beam interaction at a high-energy collider. In our experiments, an electron lens, a novel instrument developed for the beam-beam compensation, was set on a 980-GeV proton bunch at the Fermilab Tevatron proton-antiproton collider. The proton-bunch losses due to its interaction with the antiproton beam were reduced by a factor of 2 when the electron lens was operating. We describe the principle of electron lens operation and present experimental results.

[Left ventricular remodeling in chronic heart failure: clinical-morphological parallels]. / Kliniko-morfologicheskie paralleli remodelirovaniia levogo zheludochka pri khronicheskoi serdechnoi nedostatochnosti.

AIM: To study morphofunctional state of left ventricular and right atrial myocardium in chronic heart failure at tissue, cellular and subcellular levels and to assess relationship between observed morphological changes and echocardiographical characteristics of left ventricular remodeling. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Myocardial remodeling in chronic heart failure was characterized by impaired cellular-stromal balance, enhanced processes of degeneration of cardiomyocytes, lowered energy availability in these cells, and insufficient intracellular regeneration. Fairly close relationship was observed between morphological myocardial changes and echocardiographical parameters of left ventricular remodeling.

[Remodeling myocardium and skeletal muscle in chronic heart failure]. / Remodelirovanie miokarda i skeletnoi myshtsy pri khronicheskoi serdechnoi nedostatochnosti.

The spread and progression of chronic heart failure (CHF) is viewed presently from the standpoint of remodeling the myocardium and skeletal peripheral vessels. However, it is not clear yet, if such remodeling is a common adaptive mechanism in CHF for the myocardium and skeletal muscle. The study aim was to investigate the morphological changes in the myocardium and their interrelations with the skeletal muscle condition in CHF patients. For this purpose the biopsy materials of the left ventricle and pectoral muscles obtained from 36 patients with CHF (functional classes I-IV according to NYHA) of various etiologies as well as biopsy materials of the rectus abdominal muscle obtained from 8 patients without CHF were examined by light and electron microscopy. It was established that the development and progression of CHF is accompanied by similar changes in the morphology of the myocardium and skeletal muscle at the tissue, cellular and subcellular levels. As CHF aggravates, the manifestations of hypertrophy and heteromorphism of tissue fibers equally progress in the myocardium and skeletal muscle. A reliable correlation was detected between changes of cellular-stromal ratio in the myocardium and in the skeletal muscle (r = 0.57; p < 0.05).

[Treatment and prophylaxis of infected forms and complications of pancreatic necrosis with the use of regional intraarterial infusion]. / Lechenie i profilaktika infitsirovannykh form i oslozhnenii pankreonekroza s primeneniem regionarnoi vnutriarterial'noi infuzii.

The aim of the investigation was to study the variants of the course of sterile and infected pancreatonecrosis, the character of the developing complications depending on the state of organic blood circulation in the pancreas and the influence of its correction upon the outcomes of the disease. The material of examination and treatment of 121 patients with pancreatonecrosis was analyzed. Complex treatment of 51 of the patients included the method of regional intraarterial infusion. Celiacography and CT with the intraarterial contrast reinforcement have revealed that in 35 (68.6%) patients there were symptoms of "perfusion block" of the pancreas of different degrees which was due to spasm, thrombosis of the vessels and impairment of the regional microcirculation. Differentiated approach to the composition of the infusate resulted in arrest of phenomena of "perfusion block" of the pancreas in 24 out of 35 patients. As a whole, using this method allowed to reduce the number of purulent complications, primary open operations and reoperations. Lethality in the group with infusion was 9.8%.