Lower–Middle Pleistocene Stratigraphy of the Southern West Siberian Plain: New Data

—The Quaternary stratigraphy of the southern West Siberian Plain is considered in the context of the updated International Chronostratigraphic Scale, with the Neogene/Quarternary boundary at 2.588 Ma. New geological, lithological, paleontological, and paleomagnetic data from a reference Quaternary section in the Irtysh River valley near Isakovka Village provide more rigorous constraints on the Lower–Middle Pleistocene stratigraphy and the respective deposition conditions. The Isakovka outcrop exposes two stratigraphically expressed and paleontologically characterized units that were deposited during regional Pleistocene interglacial events of different ages: the Strunino and Serebryanoe alluvium beds lying over eroded surfaces. The species of the Corbicula genus coexisting with numerous species of Palearctic molluscs, small mammals Allophaiomys deucalion, Mimomys reidi, and last rooted lagurids Borsodia found in the Strunino alluvium are known also from continental equivalents of the warm upper Gelasian Stage in different parts of northern Eurasia. Judging by the presence of extant corbicules, the Strunino alluvium was deposited in a warm climate, with a mean annual air temperature above +16 °C and a mean winter temperature no colder than –8 °C, in rivers that remained free from ice all year round. On the basis of fauna constraints for the Serebryanoe alluvium, along with the first appearance of the European Pisidium clessini molluscs in West Siberia, the unit can be correlated with one of the earliest Middle Pleistocene interglacial events. The faunal assemblages and spore-pollen patterns of the two units indicate that the climate during the Serebryanoe deposition was slightly cooler and wetter than during the Strunino deposition, though steppe landscapes predominated on watersheds in both events. The two alluvial beds, which are traceable in river bluffs, at 30 m above the modern water level in a tectonically stable part of West Siberia, mark the hypsometrically higher position of the river network during the Early Pleistocene and early Middle Pleistocene interglacials.

Proposal of the Dichotomous STATIS DUAL Method: Software and Application for the Analysis of Dichotomous Data, Applied to the Test of Learning Styles in University Students

The present work analyzed a review of methods for analyzing sequences of matrices or dichotomous data. A new method for a sequence of dichotomous matrices with a different number of rows is presented; the Dichotomous STATIS DUAL. Suppose we match the sequence of matrices by different years, with this method. In that case, we can graphically represent the relations among the different columns of all the matrices, and the relations between those columns and the different years, because everything can be represented in the same plots. As in all STATIS methods, three different plots can get: (i) the interstructure, with the relations among the years; (ii) the compromise, with the stable part of the relations between the columns; and (iii) the intrastructure (also known as trajectories), with the relations between columns and years, in other words, the evolution of the columns through the time. This new mathematical method can be used with all kinds of dichotomous data, thanks to the software we propose. In the present work, the software was applied to the assessment of learning styles.

Using of the Tape Extensometer for Possibilities of Landslide Monitoring or another purposes

The main goal of this article is to analyze the possibility of using tape extensometry. It is one of the methods of evaluating the development of slope deformation. Tape extensometry is used to monitor the movement of the slope on the surface. Tape extensometry is used for fast and accurate measurement of relative distances between pairs of reference points on the surface of structures, including radial movements and convergence of tunnels, linings, shafts and caves. Then deformations of excavations in underground caves and displacements of retaining walls, bridge piers and arches. The digital tape extensometer is a portable device used to measure the displacement between pairs of eye bolts. The principle of measuring on a slope consists in directly measuring the distance between the stabilized measuring points. The measuring points are located in both stable and unstable parts. The measuring points are concreted into boreholes drilled to a non-freezing depth, which in the Czech Republic is about 0.8 m below the ground. The direction of movement can be determined by measuring the change in distance between several points located in the stable part and points in the unstable part. If we also measure in time intervals, we can also find out the approximate speed of movement. The tape extensometry method is performed using a tape extensometer. It is a specially adapted zone in which emphasis is placed on the material from which the meter is made, because it is important that the material has a low thermal expansion, for example nickel steel is suitable.

Evolution of Robert Bridges’ Style Through the Lens of Metaphor

The study of the author’s individual style is an intensively developing area of modern linguistics. Currently, the author’s individual style is considered as a system characterized by both statics and dynamics. Metaphors are some of the most reliable markers of individual style, since they give an idea of the writer’s personality and mental worldview. This article analyses the individual style in the lyric poetry of Robert Bridges, an outstanding English poet of the late 19th – early 20th centuries. The obtained results made it possible to establish that the stable part of Bridges’ individual style is a set of concepts forming his conceptual sphere as well as the central opposition of his oeuvre: the microcosm–macrocosm opposition. The varying characteristics of Bridges’ individual style are the ranks of concepts, changes in which are associated with a shift in the focus of the author’s attention and transformation in his worldview. The quantitative changes in Bridges’ later lyric poems compared to the early ones include a growing share of negatively coloured vocabulary and number of substantive metaphors, as well as an increasing variety of metaphorization of certain concepts. The main trends in Bridges’ individual style transformation are the tendency towards compensation, manifesting itself in various aspects of metaphorization, and the tendency towards simplification and concretization. The analysis of the evolution of Bridges’ metaphorical system showed that at the initial stage of his writing, he is equally interested in both the inner world of a person and the outside world, while in his later lyric poems Bridges focuses on the outside world, in particular, society.

Immobilization of Exfoliated g-C3N4 for Photocatalytical Removal of Organic Pollutants from Water

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was synthesized from melamine and exfoliated by thermal treatment. Exfoliated g-C3N4 particles were immobilized by electrophoretic deposition from an ultrasonically treated ethanolic suspension aged up to 12 weeks. During the aging of the suspension, the separation of particles bigger than 10 μm was observed. The separated stable part of the suspension contained particles with a relatively uniform size distribution, enabling the fabrication of g-C3N4 films that were stable in a stirred aqueous solution. Such stable immobilized particles of exfoliated g-C3N4 are reported for the first time. The photocatalytic activity of such layers was evaluated using aqueous solutions of Acid Orange 7 (AO7) and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP). The photocatalytic decomposition of AO7 was faster in comparison with the decomposition of 4-CP. Mineralization was observed in the case of AO7, but not in the case of 4-CP, where the decrease of 4-CP concentration is due to 4-CP polymerization and the formation of a dimer, C12H8Cl2O2. This indicates that the use of g-C3N4 as a photocatalyst for oxidative degradation of organic compounds in water is limited.

A statistical-based reach scale classification for the lower Tapajós river channel, eastern Amazonia

The Tapajós river is among the largest rivers in the world and has been credited as the main affluent of the lower Amazon River. Geomorphological studies in the Tapajós commonly deal with evolutionary, hydrological, and sedimentological issues. Recently, important advances have been made in understanding the morphology and dynamics in the Tapajós, especially in the confluence zone near Santarém, eastern Amazonian Brazil. However, the lack of an independent channel classification system makes it difficult to integrate data obtained from different sources. This work presents a classification system for the lower Tapajós based on morphometric variables extracted from transversal profiles coupled with radar and optical remote sensing data. We used discriminant analysis of principal components for the first time in fluvial geomorphology to provide a clustering-based geomorphological classification, which is statistically supported. We propose a segmentation of the channel into three distinct sections referred to as narrower channel reach, higher ria reach, and lower ria reach. The results showed that the channel has a distinct morphological pattern in each of these reaches, which can also be observed by the variation along the longitudinal profile. Our findings showed that the most variable hydrological and sedimentological patterns are found in the lower ria reach, while the higher ria reach comprises a canyon-shaped, more stable part of the channel. We discuss the implications of this pattern on the ria’s evolution. The method developed here could be applied to other areas of the Amazon basin, where the lack of data and logistical difficulties carrying out fieldwork are common obstacles to large-scale investigations. The identified reaches are indended to be considered in the sample design of future works and in the formulation of water resources management strategies.

Manifestation of the Factor of Regional Median Position

The article summarises theoretical approaches to determining the median regions, their place and rolein the territorial structure of the country and its socio-economic development. The basis of the approach proposedis multiple descriptions of a set of attributes, connections, and relationships, a holistic view of the region as arelatively stable part of the socio-economic space. To conduct an empirical study in Russia, 32 regions wereselected, attributed to the category of the median regions by their geographical position. According to theapproach, the list of verifiable median characteristics of the regions includes transit, polystructurality, scale,resource availability, gravity, population concentration, the role in ensuring national security, budget donation,the “pilot” character, the concentration of intellectual potential, low risks, high investment and innovationpotential, high contact with neighbouring territories, and clustering. The results of the study suggest that thecumulative effect of the regional median position has a significant differentiation. Therefore, the authors candistinguish such types of median regions as integrators of the economic space, sustainable median regions, anddeveloping median regions. Based on the topological attributes of median regions, the mission of median regionsis justified. It is substantiated that the factor of the medianness of the region can be of key importance in regionalpolicy only if this resource is used correctly in program activities, regional development strategies and regionalpolicy of the state.

Effect of Cutting Speed on Shape Recovery of Work Material in Cutting Process of Super-Elastic NiTi Alloy

Increasing use of NiTi alloy products makes it very important to improve the cutting performance of this material. This study presents the effect of cutting speed on radial shape recovery of work material which is supposed to deteriorate the dimension accuracy in cutting process of super-elastic NiTi alloy. The shape recovery of work material was investigated at the beginning of cutting process, during the stable part of cutting process and after feed stops respectively utilizing a high-speed camera and a cutting force dynamometer in orthogonal cutting experiments at various cutting speeds. The mechanism of the shape recovery was investigated by analyzing the crystallization phase state of work material before and after cutting using XRD and measuring the temperature distributions on the end surface of work material during orthogonal cutting experiments using non-reversible temperature indicating paints correspondingly. Results show that at relatively low cutting speed, the temperature of work material near the cutting point did not exceed the threshold temperature of phase transformation, and thus work material generated obvious shape recovery throughout the whole cutting process due to the phase transformation. Increasing cutting speed could increase the temperature of work material; when cutting speed increased to 100 m/min, the temperature of work material near the cutting point exceeded the threshold temperature of phase transformation, thus work material did not generate obvious shape recovery because it could not undergo any form of phase transformation during the stable part of cutting process and after feed stops. Consequently, increasing cutting speed could be proposed as an approach to improve dimension accuracy by inhibiting shape recovery of work material in cutting process of NiTi alloy.

Следы разных традиций в одной нетрадиционной служебной минее XVI в.

This paper analyses specific features of the Russian service menaion from the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius’s collection, which that is significantly different from other menaia of the Jerusalem type. Besides the stable part, Menaion TSL 541 contains a number of services to the saints that are not typical for a Menaia (including several services to Russian saints). All these services are composed through the compilation of canticles from various sources. The memories of these “additional” saints are found under the same dates in other liturgical books, dating back to different traditions, which allows us to make assumptions about the type of sources used by the author-compiler of the Menaion TSL 541. In addition, the texts of a number of services of the stable part differ from those that are usually placed in the menaia of the Jerusalem type. For them, however, correspondences are found in more archaic menaia of the pre-Jerusalem type. Our research proves that Menaion TSL 541 is far from a standard menaia of XVI century. The analysis of this Menaion opens new perspectives for reconstruction of archaic and location specific strata of Slavic Orthodox hymnography tradition.

Method for Determining the Parameters of an Induction Motor

The paper proposes a new iterative method for determining the parameters of an induction motor. The method is based on the measured values of no-load current and active resistance of the stator winding. The calculated parameters are used to build the mechanical characteristics of the engine. To assess its accuracy, a comparative analysis with a pie chart was carried out. In the practical part of the work, on the basis of the experimental stand, measurements were made of the magnitude of the electromagnetic moment of the investigated asynchronous motor AIR71A4 at different values of the rotation frequency on the stable part of the mechanical characteristic. In a comparative analysis of the calculated and experimental data, it was found that the proposed method has sufficient accuracy in calculating the primary parameters of the engine. This provides a basis for the practical use of the proposed calculation method in engineering practice