Genital anatomy, jaw and radula of Guladentia subtussulcata (Helicoidea, Cepolidae), endemic to western Cuba

This study provides the first data on the genital anatomy, jaw and radula of Guladentia subtussulcata (L. Pfeiffer, 1863). The auxiliary copulatory organ of this species is very peculiar, similar to that of Jeanneretia L. Pfeiffer, 1877, and different from that of other cepolids. It consists of an elongate, pedunculate mucus gland inserted apically on a muscular papilla and an atrial sac, all covered by a sheath. A sheath-like accessory gland is inserted at the base of the atrial sac. Another similarity with Jeanneretia is the presence of a fertilization pouch-spermatheca complex with a single exposed spermatheca. Like Jeanneretia, G. subtussulcata has an oxygnath, highly arched jaw with slight striae over the entire surface and a broad, well-developed median projection. The radula has triangular and monocuspid central and lateral teeth (the central teeth are smaller than the rest). The marginal teeth are multicuspid with the mesocone and ectocones smaller than the endocones. The similar structures of the auxiliary copulatory organ (without dart sac) and spermatheca (simple) strongly suggest that G. subtussulcata and Jeanneretia spp. are closely related. As such, it remains to be decided whether Guladentia Clench & Aguayo, 1951 and Jeanneretia should continue to be treated as separate genera.

Speed distribution in the exhaust diffuser of the air fan

A perfect connection between the column and the fan is that which ensures an air inlet in the fan, evenly distributed, over the entire surface of the suction mouth and an air outlet from the fan outlet made in a way that allows the full use of developed pressure. For both suction and exhaust, fans must be equipped with a device/diffuser. When the fan discharges freely into the atmosphere without any connection, a loss equivalent to 50% of the average dynamic pressure at the discharge port occurs. If the fan discharges into a speaker, the loss depends on its angle. At a peak angle of 30° corresponds to a loss of ≈ 25% of the average dynamic pressure in the discharge mouth, and to reduce air vortices the speakers must be built at an angle of inclination to vertical or horizontal between 12- 15°, in order to reduce the aerodynamic resistances. The paper will present the speed field distribution of an axial fan located on a circular duct, provided on the air discharge side with a diffuser with a length of 1.5 m, at an angle of inclination to the vertical or horizontal of 12°.

Comment on “High-temperature superconductivity in transition metallic hydrides MH11 (M = Mo, W, Nb, and Ta) under high pressure” by M. Du, Z. Zhang, H. Song, H. Yu, T. Cui, V. Z. Kresinc and D. Duan, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2021, 23, 6717

In superconductors, scattered electrons cover the entire surface of the Fermi sphere (circle in the figure, valency = 3). In the MP scheme in the article concerned, the shaded wedge confines coverage, causing errors in results.

The effects ofcombined diamond microdermabrasion and a mixture of cosmetic acids on the condition of acne prone skin: a case report

Background: Exfoliating treatments are widely used in cosmetology and dermatology forthe treatment of skin lesions and, above all, toreduce the number of skin eruptions that occur with acne vulgaris. An effective treatment that can be offered to people suffering from this disease is diamond microdermabrasion. The addition of acid peeling to this treatment may lead to even better results than in the case of monotherapy. Aim of the study: To assess the effectiveness of a combination of microdermabrasion and acid peeling on a 21-year-old woman suffering from acne vulgaris. Case report: The patient suffered from acne vulgaris, too high a level of sebum on the entire surface of the face, and, over the course of the disease, developed open and closed blackheads and inflammatory pustules. The sebum level was measured with a DermaUnitSCC3 device and the number of skin eruptions was determined using the global acne severity scale (GAGS). Conclusion: The series of cosmetological treatments led to a reduction in the sebum on the surface of the epidermis and the number of skin eruptions.

Small-scale topographic irregularities on Phobos: image and numerical analyses for MMX mission

The mothership of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) will perform the first landing and sampling on the surface of Phobos. For the safe landing, the 2.1-m-wide mothership of the MMX should find a smooth surface with at most 40 cm topographic irregularity, however, whose abundance or even existence is not guaranteed based on current knowledge. We studied the highest resolution (a few meters per pixel) images of Phobos for possible topographic irregularities in terms of boulder (positive relief feature) and crater distributions. We find that the spatial number densities of positive relief features and craters can vary significantly, indicating that the surface irregularities vary significantly over the entire surface. We extrapolate the size-frequency distributions of positive relief features to evaluate the surface roughness below the image resolution limit. We find that the probabilities that topographic irregularities are < 40 cm for the areas of 4 × 4 m and 20 × 20 m are > 33% and < 1% for boulder-rich areas and > 88% and > 13% for boulder-poor areas, respectively, even for the worst-case estimates. The estimated probabilities largely increase when we reduce the assumed number of positive relief features, which are more realistic cases. These indicate high probabilities of finding a smooth enough place to land on Phobos’ surface safely. Graphical Abstract

THE BURIAL WITH A BRONZE HAMMER-AXE FROM THE ANDREEVSKIY KURGAN IN STAVROPOL REGION

Статья посвящена публикации погребения 19 с бронзовым топором-молотом из кургана 1 у пос. Андреевского близ г. Георгиевска на севере района Кавказских Минеральных Вод. Памятник раскопан Р. В. Прокофьевым. Захоронение является основным для второй насыпи кургана, возведенного ранее над захоронениями долинского варианта майкопско-новосвободненской общности. Топор-молот из п. 19 украшен литым орнаментом. Погребение имеет радиоуглеродную дату -третья четв. III тыс. до н. э. В статье приводятся аналогии топору-молоту в Предкавказье и в степном Поволжье. Проводится анализ орнаментов этих топоров-молотов и делается вывод об их символическом значении как топоров-скипетров. Производство такого типа оружия связывается с Центральным Предкавказьем. The paper describes burial 19 containing a bronze hammer-axe from kurgan 1 located in the vicinity of the Andreevskiy settlement near the town of Georgievsk in the North Caucasian Mineral Waters region. The site was excavated by R. V. Prokofyev. The burial is primary one in the second kurgan mound constructed earlier over the burials attributed to the Dolinskoye variant of the Maykop-Novosvobodnaya community. The entire surface of the discussed hammer-axe from burial 19 is densely covered with cast decoration. The radiocarbon date of the burial puts it within the third quarter of 3 mill. BC. The article presents analogies to the hammer-axe among similar artifacts from the Fore-Caucasus and the steppe Volga region. It also analyzes decoration patterns on such hammer-axes and comes to the conclusion on their symbolic meaning as scepter-axes. Production of this type of weapons is associated with the central ForeCaucasus.

Phototherapy in the Treatment of Diabetic Foot — A Preliminary Study

The first part of the publication presents a substantively insightful literature study on the essence and effects of light waves on wound healing in living organisms, including the use of phototherapy in the treatment of the diabetic foot. A knitted textile dressing was designed and manufactured for phototherapy of patients with diabetes suffering from diabetic foot syndrome (DFS). The proposed solution is intended for the treatment of dermal tissues within the patient's foot affected because of diabetic disease at an early stage. Thus, the use of a knitted dressing with incorporated fiber optic structures and powered by a semiconductor laser emitting a 405 nm light wave from its entire surface would prevent further anomalies of the patient's tissues and help to avoid surgical intervention.

Surface Modification of Carbon Fiber-Polyetheretherketone Composite to Impart Bioactivity by Using Apatite Nuclei

The authors aimed to impart the apatite-forming ability to 50 wt% carbon fiber-polyetheretherketone composite (50C-PEEK), which has more suitable mechanical properties as artificial bone materials than pure PEEK. First, the 50C-PEEK was treated with sulfuric acid in a short time to form pores on the surface. Second, the surface of the 50C-PEEK was treated with oxygen plasma to improve the hydrophilicity. Finally, fine particles of calcium phosphate, which the authors refer to as “apatite nuclei”, were precipitated on the surface of the 50C-PEEK by soaking in an aqueous solution containing multiple inorganic ions such as phosphate and calcium (modified-SBF) at pH 8.20, 25 °C. The 50C-PEEK without the modified-SBF treatment did not show the formation of apatitic phase even after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 7 days. The 50C-PEEK treated with the modified-SBF showed the formation of apatitic phase on the entire surface within 1 day in the SBF. The apatite nuclei-precipitated 50C-PEEK will be expected as a new artificial bone material with high bioactivity that is obtained without complicated fabrication processes.

Orthogonal ray interferometer: modification for testing convex and concave mirror surfaces

A non-contact optical method for testing of large concave and convex mirrors both spherical and aspheric is presented. It is based on the orthogonal ray interferometer modification. The point source is placed near the testing mirror and the chief ray propagates normally to its axis. The information about a tangential profile of testing mirror is contained in an interference pattern that is a result of superposition between two wavefronts, the first is reflected from the mirror, the second bypasses the mirror. Testing of the entire surface is carried out by rotating the mirror. Interferogram decoding method and algorithm for determination of an error of the testing surface are presented. The proposed method does not require bulky additional optical components what differs it from existing methods and makes promising primary for testing large astronomical mirrors. Furthermore, the method is universal and suited for surfaces with various geometrical parameters. The scheme with some modification of the present method is applied for surfaces without axis of rotational symmetry or freeform surfaces.

Photodynamic reparative skin regeneration using application of photosensitizer gel based on chlorin e6

The results of a study of the clinical effectiveness of the correction of involutional changes in the skin by the method of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with the use of a photosensitizer gel (PS), the active substance of which is the trismeglumine salt of chlorin e6, are presented. The data of fluorescence spectroscopy for monitoring the level of PS fluorescence in order to determine the optimal time of its exposure are demonstrated. The study of the optimal exposure time involved 80 patients with different skin phototypes. The study of the effectiveness of PDT involved 42 patients aged 44–68 years with signs of chrono- and photoaging. The PDT procedure was performed by irradiating the entire surface treated with the PS with a power density of 100 mW/cm2, a light dose of 120–140 J/cm2, a laser radiation wavelength of 660 nm, and a light beam area of 400–800 cm2. It was found that exposure to PS for 10–20 min gives the highest fluorescence and does not depend on the skin phototype. The clinical effect of PDT was achieved in 85.7% of patients; there were no negative subjective sensations. Moisture metrics increased on the skin of the face by 53%, reaching the control values in young healthy volunteers, on the skin of the hands - by 64%. Elastometry indicators on the skin of the face and hands increased by 19% and 16%, respectively. Thus, the PDT procedure with PS based on chlorin e6 is an effective method for correcting involutional changes in the skin, leads to a pronounced clinical effect, improves the parameters of skin moisture measurement and elastometry, and passes without undesirable local reactions. Optical coherence tomography showed an increase in collagen ordering.