THEORETICAL SUBSTANTIATION OF THE PHYSICAL MECHANISM OF ULTRASONIC CAVITATION DESTRUCTION OF MACROMOLECULES

Многообещающее направление исследований, которое потенциально может служить базой для создания эффективной технологии управления свойствами полимеров – воздействие механическими колебательными возмущениями на высокомолекулярную среду. В реальных неотверждённых полимерах механические колебательные возмущения, как правило, представляют собой кавитационно-акустическое воздействие, т.е. линейные синусоидальные колебания, создаваемые в среде, инициируют вторичное явление – кавитационные пузырьки. Пузырьки при кавитационно-акустическом воздействии периодически расширяются и схлопываются, формируя микроударные волны. Таким образом, механические колебательные возмущения имеют две составляющие – линейная синусоидальная и нелинейная ударно-волновая. Основное воздействие на структуру полимеров оказывает ударно-волновая составляющая. Для реализации данного процесса с максимальной энергетической эффективностью необходимо выявить оптимальные режимы воздействия. Для выявления оптимальных режимов воздействия в статье теоретически обоснован физический механизм разрушения макромолекул, основанный на их соударении со скоростью, превышающей критическую за счёт формирования экстремальных условий по температуре и давлению в окрестности схлопывающегося кавитационного пузырька. A promising area of research that can potentially serve as a basis for creating an effective technology for controlling the properties of polymers is the effect of mechanical oscillatory disturbances on a high–molecular medium. In real uncured polymers, mechanical oscillatory disturbances, as a rule, represent a cavitation-acoustic effect, i.e. linear sinusoidal vibrations created in the medium initiate a secondary phenomenon - cavitation bubbles. Bubbles under cavitation-acoustic action periodically expand and collapse, forming micro-shock waves. Thus, mechanical oscillatory disturbances have two components – linear sinusoidal and nonlinear shock wave. The main effect on the structure of polymers has a shock-wave component. To implement this process with maximum energy efficiency, it is necessary to identify optimal exposure modes. In order to identify optimal exposure modes, the article theoretically substantiates the physical mechanism of destruction of macromolecules based on their collision with a velocity exceeding the critical one due to the formation of extreme conditions for temperature and pressure in the vicinity of a collapsing cavitation bubble.

From the History of the Infection Study

The article reflects the development of ideas about infection, from the ancient period to the present day. In the V century Hippocrates proposed a miasmatic theory, according to which diseases are caused by harmful fumes. This paradigm remained dominant for 2.5 millennia. Although the existence of microorganisms has been known since 1676, when they were first described by Anthony van Leeuwenhoek, for a long time the detection of microbes in the biosubstrates of a sick person was considered as a secondary phenomenon in relation to the disease. The theoretical basis for such ideas was the concept of spontaneous generation, which has dominated since the time of Aristotle. The change from the miasmatic theory to the infectious paradigm was due to the fundamental discoveries of Louis Pasteur, who proved the biological nature of fermentation and the infectious genesis of silkworm diseases. The listed discoveries put an end to the discussion about spontaneous generation, became the scientific justification for asepsis and antiseptics and aimed at searching for pathogens of infectious human diseases, which led to a surge in discoveries in microbiology. The causative agents of fever (1868), leprosy (1873), anthrax (1876), tuberculosis (1882), cholera (1883), diphtheria (1884), plague (1894), etc. were discovered. As a result, the infectious theory finally conquered the world. An important achievement of the late 19th century was the allocation of a new type of infectious agents — viruses, which make up the most numerous form of life. With the recognition of the infectious theory at the end of the 19th century an active search for antimicrobial agents began. In 1943, the mass production of the first antibiotic, penicillin, was launched, the discovery of which is called one of the most outstanding achievements in the history of mankind. The use of antimicrobial drugs, along with mass vaccination, led to a significant decrease in the share of infectious diseases in the structure of mortality.

Duration of basic and attenuated-psychotic symptoms in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis: pattern of symptom onset and effects of duration on functioning and cognition

Introduction Duration of risk symptoms (DUR) in people at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P) has been related to poorer clinical outcomes, such as reduced functioning, but it is currently unclear how different symptoms emerge as well as their link with cognitive deficits. To address these questions, we examined the duration of basic symptoms (BS) and attenuated psychotic symptoms (APS) in a sample of CHR-P participants to test the hypothesis that BS precede the manifestation of APS. As a secondary objective, we investigated the relationship between DUR, functioning and neuropsychological deficits. Methods Data from 134 CHR-P participants were assessed with the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental State and the Schizophrenia Proneness Interview, Adult Version. Global, role and social functioning and neurocognition were assessed and compared to a sample of healthy controls (n = 57). Results In CHR-P participants who reported both APS and BS, onset of BS and APS was not significantly related. When divided into short and long BS duration (</> 8 years), CHR-P participants with a longer duration of BS showed evidence for an onset of BS preceding APS (n = 8, p = 0.003). However, in the short BS duration group, APS showed evidence of preceding BS (n = 56, p = 0.020). Finally, there were no significant effects of DUR on cognition or functioning measures. Conclusion The present findings do not support the view that APS constitute a secondary phenomenon to BS. Moreover, our data could also not confirm that DUR has a significant effect on functioning and cognitive deficits. These findings are discussed in the context of current theories regarding emerging psychosis and the importance of DUR.

Tools of the trade: click-tracks and conductors

This essay will examine the manner in which composers and artistic directors have used conductors and click-tracks within the context of new music ensembles performing integrative concerts. The analyses and examples provided will rely for the most part on material gathered during in-depth interviews that I conducted with artistic directors, composers, conductors, and musicians, all of whom are professionally active in the new music field in Europe (and beyond). I will examine the application of both click-tracks and conductors and demonstrate that their implementation represents an active choice made by either the composer and/or artistic directors. Both click-tracks and conductors are viewed by the interviewees as potential tools with somewhat overlapping possibilities and capacities and their presence is no secondary phenomenon of the music. They become instead a means for the above actors to meet their objectives, be they artistic, pragmatic, technical, or otherwise.

The value transformation аnd semantic space of kitsch in the music practice at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries

Background. The phenomenon of kitsch in the musical practice of the 20th century is characterized by the absence of a strict definition, on the basis of which one or another musical composition could be classified as a kitsch one. The appearance of kitsch in music had several reasons: 1) the composers’ desire to impress the listener, as well as to achieve commercial success (hence the imitation of high art patterns through democratization, aimed at achieving the replication of a musical composition); 2) the perception of kitsch as a “secondary” phenomenon – a copy or a fake; 3) the change of one cultural paradigm for another (“Romanticism – Avant-gardism – Postmodernism”). The negative semantic load of kitsch has developed genetically and is a kind of marking of “a bad taste”. The paradox is that “kitsch” is interpreted by music critics as a secondary phenomenon, which is beyond the boundaries of genuine art. However, in the composer’s work, kitsch can be interpreted in a positive sense, too. The purpose of the article is to identify the space of the actualization of kitsch as a stylistic mechanism of the value semantics of a musical composition and to point out the specificity of kitsch in its categorical correlation with other components of the stylistic system of the composer’s creativity. Objectives. The object of the research is the stylistic systems of composers creativity of the 20th–21st centuries, the structure of which includes the intonation form of kitsch, the ambivalent nature of which is revealed through various composing methods in various semantic keys that are the subject of this study. Methods. The need to substantiate the immanent-musical manifestations of kitsch in the composer’s style system explains the choice of interdisciplinary interaction of general scientific (historical, axiological, cognitive, systemic, and comparative) and special (genre-style, structural-functional, and interpretive) approaches. Results. Kitsch in academic music oeuvre is an intonation form, which is made by a composer from the “intonation dictionary of the epoch” without any individual activity and independence (“ordinary art”, forgery) or by the method of modelling and transforming that reflects the stereotypical human’s ideas of the Beauty in the axiological dynamics of musical arts (“high” art, its transcendental essence). The mechanisms of actualization, assessment and identification of kitsch in music have been revealed. The level of identification by the listener of the composer’s idea with one or another evaluative judgment will depend on the position of not only the author, but also the interpreter. The essence of kitsch is immanently predisposed to the multivariate nature of its manifestation, depending on the peculiarities of the correlation of the composer’s intention and the perception of the recipient. A typology of kitsch and its functions in music have been proposed. Mechanisms of kitsch meaning formation are semantic, axiological, and performing factors. Conclusions. In musical art, the phenomenon of kitsch acquires a perception and semantic transformation, which should be different from other types of art. The versatility of the intonation forms of kitsch depends on the composing, performing, and listening interpretation. In terms of professional perception and evaluation of the composition, kitsch carries a negative semantic load. However, if the perspective and evaluation criteria change, then kitsch can become a “borderline” phenomenon of musical culture. Transformation and “centring”, shift away from the main negative understanding of kitsch is possible only upon its immersing into a new compositional context. At the basis of kitsch stylization is the conceptual reason for referring to kitsch material through modelling (method by I. Stravinsky, D. Shostakovich, A. Schnittke, and R. Schedrin). The interaction of the kitsch material with the author’s stylistic frees kitsch from the negative meaning (metastyle). The transformation of the “kitsch” material becomes possible due to the appeal of the composers to the form of its symbolization (method by A. Schnittke, V. Silvestrov), which generalizes the process of the semantic “decoding” of kitsch in the perception of the recipient. V. Silvestrov reflected the ideas about Beauty within the borders of the modern European musical and aural experience. The uniqueness of the intonation embodiment of kitsch lies in the fact that the composer took into account the axiological aspect of the perception of one or another of its parameters by the recipient to embody his conceptual ideas. Kitsch, being the lexical “component” of the composer’s style, at the level of inter-textual connections becomes a new tool for generating meaning-making in music. In other words, in the music by V. Silvestrov, kitsch is released from the negative semantic load. The ambivalence of the nature of kitsch and the duality of its perception by listeners are the very immanent qualities that the performer can take into account in his/her interpretation of kitsch.

Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis due to systemic lupus erythematosus and ANCA-associated vasculitis overlap

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) are different autoimmune diseases. While vasculitis can be seen in the SLE clinical course as a secondary phenomenon, and may indicate a severe disease, primary vasculitis such as AAV rarely occurs in association with SLE. We present a 44-year-old woman who presented with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis which was histologically identified as a combination of crescentic and lupus nephritis in the presence of myeloperoxidase ANCA antibody. The frequency of this association is very rare. The clinical, histological and immunological features are different in SLE/AAV overlap syndrome and need different treatment options, which may include rituximab, to achieve complete recovery. Since SLE/AAV overlap can be serious at presentation, the physician must be aware of this syndrome.

Raynaud’s phenomenon in the endocrinologist’s practice

Raynauds phenomenon or syndrome (RS) is an episodic attacks of transient digital ischemia resulting from vasospasm of the digital artery, precapillary arterioles, and skin arteriovenous shunts in response to exposure to cold temperature or emotional stress. Prevalence averages 35%. The high prevalence of RS in the population, as well as the frequent association with other, often life-threatening, diseases and conditions, determines its clinical significance. In 8090% of cases, RS is idiopathic. It is assumed that the spasmodic reactivity of the vessels is caused by a violation of the central and local dysregulation of vascular tone. The most important role is played by vascular endothelial, intravascular and neuronal disorders. In at least 10% of cases, this is a secondary phenomenon. Most often, RS is associated with systemic rheumatic diseases. Along with this, endocrine diseases can develop, including those affected by the pituitary, thyroid and parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, and diabetes mellitus. In some cases, RS may be the only symptom of endocrine pathology. In general, SR is a condition with a favorable outlook and a stable course. The most informative instrumental method for the differential diagnosis of primary and secondary syndrome is the capillaroscopy of the nail bed.

The renal tubular acidoses

Renal tubular acidosis (RTA) arises when the kidneys either fail to excrete sufficient acid, or are unable to conserve bicarbonate, with both circumstances leading to metabolic acidosis of varying severity with altered serum potassium. Proximal and distal types of RTA can be differentiated according to which nephron segment is malfunctioning. Proximal RTA: aetiology and diagnosis—the condition may be (1) secondary to generalized proximal tubular dysfunction (part of the renal Fanconi’s syndrome), or rarely (2) due to an inherited mutation of a single transporter (NBC1) located at the basolateral surface of the proximal tubular epithelium. The combination of normal anion gap acidosis with other features of proximal tubular dysfunction such as renal phosphate wasting (and hypophosphataemia), renal glycosuria, hypouricaemia (due to uricosuria), aminoaciduria, microalbuminuria, and other low molecular weight proteinuria suggests the diagnosis. Management—this requires large quantities of oral alkali with (in most cases) potassium supplements to prevent severe hypokalaemia. Distal RTA: aetiology/diagnosis—two main classes are differentiated by whether (1) the acid-handling cells in the collecting ducts are themselves functioning inadequately, in which case there is associated hypokalaemia (this is ‘classic’ distal RTA); or (2) the main abnormality is of the salt-handling principal cells in the same nephron segment, in which case hyperkalaemia occurs and the acidosis is a secondary phenomenon—this is hyperkalaemic distal RTA. The combination of normal anion gap acidosis with a urine pH higher than 5.5 suggests classic distal RTA. Management—(1) classic distal RTA—1 to 3 mg/kg per day of oral alkali; (2) hyperkalaemic distal RTA—treatment is with sodium bicarbonate, but fludrocortisone and/or potassium-lowering measures may also be necessary. Precipitating drugs should be stopped.

Investigating the additive probability of repeated language production decisions

This paper introduces an experimental paradigm based on probabilistic evidence of the interaction between construction decisions in a parsed corpus. The approach is demonstrated using ICE-GB, a one million-word corpus of English. It finds an interaction between attributive adjective phrases in noun phrases with a noun head, such that the probability of adding adjective phrases falls successively. The same pattern is much weaker in adverbs preceding a verb phrase, implying this decline is not a universal phenomenon. Noun phrase postmodifying clauses exhibit a similar initial fall in the probability of successive clauses modifying the same NP head, and embedding clauses modifying new NP heads. Successive postmodification shows a secondary phenomenon of an increase in additive probability in longer sequences, apparently due to ‘templating’ effects. The author argues that these results can only be explained as cognitive and communicative natural phenomena acting on and within recursive grammar rules.

Nocturnal polyuria: Literature review of definition, pathophysiology, investigations and treatment

Nocturnal polyuria (NP) is characterised by increased urine production overnight in comparison to daytime. It has significant adverse events in adults including reduced quality of life, increased risk of falls and increased mortality. Although NP can be a manifestation of other significant conditions like heart failure and sleep apnoea, there are lots of unanswered questions about NP. What is the underlying pathophysiology? Is NP a physiological manifestation of ageing? Is the circadian change of vasopressin release the primary pathology? Or is it a secondary phenomenon to a low diurnal production of urine? Is the primary pathology at the kidney level or is there another humoral, cardiac, or endovascular element? In this article, we summarise the available English-language literature on the subject of NP, including its epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment. Level of evidence: Not applicable for this multicentre audit.