Macroscopic structure of Pinus sylvestris L. wood during introduction to the Central forest-steppe

The macroscopic structure of Pinus sylvestris L. wood growing in the geographical cultures of the Central forest-steppe (Bryansk, Voronezh, and Volgograd climatypes), natural forests of the broad-leaved forest zone of the Bryansk region, the zone of the southern forest-steppe of the Voronezh region and the dry steppe of the Volgograd region was studied. The dependence of the annual ring width on the degree of humidification was found. When Pinus sylvestris L. moving in arid conditions of the dry steppe, changes in the annual ring width were noted, this is an adaptive feature of plants to environmental conditions. The early wood is more susceptible to changes in width depending on the growing conditions than late wood. In geographical cultures of Pinus sylvestris L. created in the Central Forest-steppe of the Voronezh Region climatypes from the Bryansk region have a decrease in the annual ring width and climatypes from the Volgograd region have an increase in the annual ring width, which is related to a change in the degree of humidification. Macrostructural features of wood can be an indicator of the climate in certain natural conditions.

Method of Macromicroscopic Preparation for Determination of Fetal Anatomical Variability of the Thoracic Part of the Aorta

To obtain data about the formation of fetal macroscopic structure and topography of the thoracic part of the aorta, which can be used for age-related mapping, it is necessary to determine a standard sequence of steps during the preparation of these structures. The purpose of the study was to determine the method of the best rational sequence of actions during the preparation of areas of the posterior mediastinum in human fetuses to obtain standard results, useful for comparing in the age aspect. Materials and methods. The study was performed on 35 human fetuses of 4-10 months by macromicroscopic preparation of organs, vessels, and nerves of the posterior mediastinum. Results and discussion. In the study of fetal anatomical variability of branches and nerves of the thoracic aorta in the age aspect, the algorithm of anatomical preparation of the posterior mediastinum becomes a priority. However, in the literary sources available to us, we did not find information about the sequence of actions during the preparation of the posterior mediastinum, including the thoracic aorta in human fetuses. The innervation of the thoracic part of aorta on both sides mainly involves the branches of the II-VI thoracic nodes of the sympathetic trunk, the great visceral nerve, and the branch of the vagus nerve. Adherence to the following sequence of actions during the preparation of the posterior mediastinum, and in particular, the branches and nerves of the thoracic aorta, in human fetuses, provides not only the scientific value of the results but also the rational use of biological material. Conclusion. The proposed and tested method of dissection of nerves, visceral and parietal branches of the thoracic aorta in human fetuses provides a standard for obtaining data about their typical, individual, and age anatomical variability. The innervation of the thoracic aorta mainly involves the branches of the II-VI thoracic nodes of the sympathetic trunk, the great visceral nerve, and the branch of the vagus nerve. Nerve branches leading to the thoracic aorta from various sources enter its wall either together with blood vessels or in isolation. In human fetuses, between the right and left sympathetic trunks and the thoracic part of the aorta, in addition to the intermediate plexus or collateral trunk, a paraaortic plexus is found, the branches of which participate in the innervation of the thoracic aorta. Bilateral asymmetry of the structure and topography of the plexuses of the thoracic aorta was detected. The sequence of actions used during the preparation of the thoracic aorta in human fetuses preserves the natural appearance and relationships between the branches and nerves of the object of the study

Highly efficient photo-degradation of cetirizine antihistamine with TiO2-SiO2 photocatalyst under ultraviolet irradiation

Photocatalysis is an extraordinary and vastly researched topic; there is a need to find new ways to support producing composite materials that are cost-effective, efficient and have a low environmental impact. The investigation was undertaken on syn TiO2 by depositing it on silica. The results elucidate the positive effect on photocatalysis activity and the macroscopic structure on which the TiO2 is formed. For the analysis of photocatalyst, various characterisation measurements were undertaken, such as XRD, FTIR, DRS, FESEM, TEM, RS, and BET. The accumulated TiO2 onto the surface of SiO2 stabilised its transformation of the phase from anatase to rutile, resulting in decreased particle size and enhancing its photocatalytic activity under UV irradiation. The concentration of OH• radicals was determined using terephthalic acid as a probe molecule to determine its role in the photocatalytic degradation of antihistamine. The results of BET analysis showed that the syn TiO2-SiO2 sample has a large specific surface area of 192.6 m2 g−1. Maximum degradation of cetirizine (about 97%) was achieved with 80% TiO2-20% SiO2 (TS-4). Recyclability test confirmed that 80% TiO2-20% SiO2 sample was stable up to six cycles.

Collective computation and the emergence of hunter-gatherer small-worlds

Two defining features of human sociality are large brains with neurally-dense cerebral cortices and the propensity to form complex social networks with non-kin. Large brains and the social networks in which they are embedded facilitate flows of fitness-enhancing information at multiple scales, but are also energetically expensive. In this paper, we consider how flows of energy and information interact to shape the macroscopic features of hunter-gatherer socioecology. Collective computation is the processing of information by complex adaptive systems to generate inferences in order to solve adaptive problems. In hunter-gatherer societies the adaptive problem is how to maximize fitness by optimizing information processing given the energy constraints of complex environments. The solution is the emergent macroscopic structure of the socioecology. Here we show how computation is extended across social networks to form the decentralized knowledge systems characteristic of hunter-gatherer societies. Data show that hunter-gatherer bands of co-residing families constitute computationally powerful networks that are embedded within hierarchically modular social networks that form complex metapopulations bound by fission-fusion dynamics at multiple scales facilitating the flow of information far beyond local interactions. These dynamics lead to the emergence of hunter-gatherer small-worlds where highly clustered local interactions are embedded within much larger, but sparsely connected metapopulations. Hunter-gatherers optimize local energy budgets in small groups but maintain interactions with much larger social networks while avoiding many of the ecological costs.

From Structure to Atoms: Compression/Tension Systems to a Molecular Tensegrity

We reconsider macroscopic structure, including tensegrity structures, as ensembles of compression (C; repulsion) and tension (T; attraction) forces, and fit them to a triangular spectrum. Then, derivative structural analogy is made to the three classes of molecular bonding, as a bridge to microscopic structure. Basic molecular interactions and their “C/T” analogues are ionic bonds (with continuous compression/discontinuous tension), or metallic bonds (with both continuous tension and compression), or covalent bonds (with discontinuous compression/continuous tension—a tensegrity structure). The construction of tensegrity sculptures of particle interactions and the covalent molecules dihydrogen, methane, diborane, and benzene using tension and compression elements follows. We derived and utilized two properties in this analysis: 1) a “simplest tensegrity” subunit structure and 2) interpenetrating, discontinuous compressive members—tension members may also be discontinuous. This approach provides new artistic models for molecules and materials, and may inform future artistic, architectural, engineering and scientific endeavors.

Circulatory systems and mortality rates

Aging is a complex process involving multiple factors and subcellular processes, ultimately leading to the death of an organism. The microscopic processes that cause aging are relatively well understood and effective macroscopic theories help explain the universality of aging in complex systems. However, these theories fail to explain the diversity of aging observed for various lifeforms. As such, more complete "mesoscopic" theories of aging are needed, combining the biophysical details of microscopic failure and the macroscopic structure of complex systems. Here we explore two models: (1) a network theoretic model, and (2) a convection diffusion model emphasizing the biophysical details of communicated signals. The first model allows us to explore the effects of connectivity structures on aging. In our second model, cells interact through cooperative and antagonistic factors. We find by varying the ratio at which these factors affect cell death, as well as the reaction kinetics, diffusive and flow parameters, we obtain a wide diversity of mortality curves. As such, the connectivity structures as well as the biophysical details of how various factors are transported in an organism may explain the diversity of aging observed across different lifeforms.

Study of adrenal morphology fromantiquity to the present day

The analysis of scientific literature shows that the study of adrenal morphology in humans and animals is an urgent problem of biology and medicine from ancient times to the present day. In the historical aspect, we can distinguish three stages of studying the adrenal gland that differ in the directions of research. The first stage corresponds to the research of scientists of the XVI–XVIII centuries (Bartolomeo Eustachio, Andreas Vesalius, Gabriele Folloppio, Girolamo Fabrici, Andriaan Spieghel, Johann Vesling, Giulia Casseria, Caspar Bauhin, Johann Grafenberg, Caspar Bartholin, Thomas Bartholin, Giulio Casserio, Antonio Molinetti, Jean Riolan, Thomas Wharton, Giovanni Lancisi, Jakob Winslow, Antony Valsalva, Albrecht Haller, Johann Meckel, Jean Senac, Armand Cassan). Their works is devoted to the study of topography, macroscopic structure and function of the adrenal gland. Studies of morphological scientists of the second stage (late XVIII – mid XX century) correspond to the study of the structure of the adrenal gland at the microscopic level. Scientists like Albert Kelliker, Johann Ecker, Thomas Addison, Gabriel Colin, Alfred Kohn and Jay Arnold used histological and histochemical research methods. Edward Schafer, George Oliver, Vladislav Szymonowicz, John Abel, Jokiti Takmine, Welter Cannon, Edward Kendall to the study of the features of adrenal hormone secretion. Scientific works of the mid-twentieth and early twenty-first centuries can be combined in the third stage of research on the morphology of the adrenal gland. It is devoted to solving issues related to the formation of the adrenal gland in the process of filogenesis and ontogenesis, the features of the structure and function of the organ in normal and pathological conditions. A significant contribution to the study of the morphology of the adrenal gland of animals at the third stage was made by such scientists as Ziyade A. M., Dardykina O. N., Harina V. V., Atagimov M. Z., Torguj P. M., Antipin I. A., Shishkin A. P., Volkova M. V., Shevchenko L. F., Sidorova O. G., Vovchenko M. B., Salekh M. M., Ovcharenko N. D., Zaika S. V., Samatova I. M., Gorbacheva E. S., Pronin V. V., Kuznecov A. V., Pashinin N. S., Strel’nikova I. G., Barvenko A. D., Fedotov D. N., Izatulin A. V., Kvarackheliya A. G., Silkina A. V., Muhametov A. I. Among the studies of morphologists of the third period, the method of electron microscopy prevails.

Study on the Inner-Lined Layers Bonding Strength at Different Temperatures of the Ceramic-Lined Tubing Prepared by the Centrifugal-SHS Method

The inner-lined layers bonding strength of the ceramic-lined tubing was measured from 25°C to 600°C. The macroscopic structure and microscopic characteristics of the slippage surface of the ceramic-lined tubing were observed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Combined with finite element analysis of the residual stress distribution at different temperatures, the shear failure model of the ceramic-lined tubing at different temperatures was given. The mechanical bonding force at the C-A (ceramic layer-alloy layer) interface is greater than the metallurgical bonding force at the A-T (alloy layer-base tubing) interface at low temperature, and the mechanical bonding force at the C-A interface is less than the metallurgical bonding force at the A-T interface at high temperature. The transition temperature is about 200 °C.