Synthesis and Properties of SrTiO3 Ceramic Doped with Sm2O3

The aim of this work was to study the effect of samarium oxide doping on a SrTiO3 perovskite ceramic. After analyzing the data obtained on the morphological features of the synthesized structures, it was found that an increase in the dopant concentration led not only to a change in the morphological features, but also in the density of the ferroelectrics. Using the X-ray diffraction method, it was found that doping with Sm2O3 led to the formation of a multiphase system of two cubic phases of SrTiO3 and Sm2O3. At the same time, an increase in the concentration of Sm2O3 dopant led to a change in the crystallinity degree, as well as deformation of the structure. Evaluation of the efficiency of use of synthesized ferroelectrics as catalysts for purification of aqueous media from manganese showed that an increase in the concentration of Sm2O3 dopant led to an increase in purification efficiency by 50–70%.

. MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS SOILS OF THE BELIGATIVE STRUCTURES OF THE KAMIANETS-PODILSKYI KAMIANETS-PODILSKYI STATE HISTORICAL RESERVE MUSEUM

The article presents micromorphological descriptions of soil profiles of key areas of the research territory. The results of micromorphological analysis and synthesis of selected soil samples are illustrated. For the first time the process-and-genetic features of urborendzins of beligerative structures were studied through the evaluation of their micromorphological structure. Urborendzins of the beligerative landscape complex of the Kamianets-Podilskyi State Historical Preserve Museum are intrazonal biolithogenic polygenetic soils with complex phylogeny exposed to a long-term anthropogenic influence. It is important to establish their genesis, which is accompanied by a number of obstacles caused by the significant amplitude of the soil profile, morphological features, physical-and-chemical features and the presence of buried horizons in such soils. To solve the problem of age and ontogenesis staging of urborendzins, along with comparative-and-geographical, we use a complex paleopedological method with active application of micromorphological analysis, which allows to establish process-and-genetic features of soils by diagnosing elementary soil processes according to sustainable features at the micro level of solid phase formation. Micromorphological structure evaluation makes it possible to consider soil as a system at the microscopic level and observe the natural flow of soil-forming processes in their interaction and ratio at all morphological levels - from microscopically small volumes of soil mass to soil profile in general. Consequently, micromorphological analysis is a unique one and possesses significant advantages over other methods of physical geography. Urborendzins of the object under study have a complex problematic genesis and the use of micromorphological analysis and micromorphological synthesis is acceptable to solve these problems. The evaluation of the micromorphological structure of these soils was carried out for the first time, their micromorphological features were not previously determined as well as the genesis in general. Our micromorphological analysis allowed us to establish the process-and-diagnostic features of the studied soils and shows that in comparison with the background soil, the deposits of the «Day Tower» are more carbonated. Under the conditions of the washing regime, fragments of limestone deposits provide constant involvement of new weathered carbonated material in soil formation processes, which promotes saturation of soil solutions with calcium cations and, accordingly, formation of more stable microaggregation of soil mass and reduction of mobility of silty particles downwards the profile, fixed through by micromorphological researches in the form of the presence of high-order microaggregates. Comparing the background soil with the sediments of the «Day Tower», it can be stated that the agrorendzin typical, in contrast to urborendzin, leached from carbonates, is characterized by the practical absence of microorshteins, humic substances are mainly in a dispersed state and signs of movement of organo-clay substances downwards the profile can be traced much more clearly. This indicates that the background agrorendzin is formed under conditions of active biogenic and accumulative processes, carbonate leaching and illimerization. Key words: micromorphological analysis, synthesis, soil, beligerative complex.

Comparison of lung image quality between CT Ark and Brilliance 64 CT during COVID-19

Aim This study is to compare the lung image quality between shelter hospital CT (CT Ark) and ordinary CT scans (Brilliance 64) scans. Methods The patients who received scans with CT Ark or Brilliance 64 CT were enrolled. Their lung images were divided into two groups according to the scanner. The objective evaluation methods of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were used. The subjective evaluation methods including the evaluation of the fine structure under the lung window and the evaluation of the general structure under the mediastinum window were compared. Kappa method was used to assess the reliability of the subjective evaluation. The subjective evaluation results were analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. SNR and CNR were tested using independent sample t tests. Results There was no statistical difference in somatotype of enrolled subjects. The Kappa value between the two observers was between 0.68 and 0.81, indicating good consistency. For subjective evaluation results, the rank sum test P value of fine structure evaluation and general structure evaluation by the two observers was ≥ 0.05. For objective evaluation results, SNR and CNR between the two CT scanners were significantly different (P<0.05). Notably, the absolute values ​​of SNR and CNR of the CT Ark were larger than Brilliance 64 CT scanner. Conclusion CT Ark is fully capable of scanning the lungs of the COVID-19 patients during the epidemic in the shelter hospital.

Assessing the care of doctors, nurses, and nursing technicians for people in situations of sexual violence in Brazil

This study aimed to assess the quality of care for people in situations of sexual violence in health services, identifying positive and negative indicators, and suggest solutions. This is a cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach and convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 134 professionals (doctors, nurses, and nursing technicians) working in public health services. Three instruments were used, namely, a structure evaluation form, a questionnaire, and a process evaluation form. The results revealed eight positive indicators (adequate infrastructure; rooms for patient assistance; gynecological bed; visual and auditory privacy; waiting rooms; a professional team comprising physicians, nurses, nursing technicians, and receptionists; adequate training of staff to provide health services to people in situations of sexual violence; and most healthcare professionals asking their patients about possible sexual violence situations) and nine negative indicators (reduced number of rooms for patient assistance with toilets; absence of protocols to identify and assist people in situations of sexual violence; absence of leaflets, posters, and other materials on sexual violence; absence of a referral flow chart (specific for people in situations of sexual violence) to specialized services; reduced number of consultations with suspected and/or confirmed cases of sexual violence; non-use of specific protocols; not referral of these patients to the specialized care network; most professionals consider the health unit where they work as unable to help people in situations of sexual violence; a decrease in attendance at health facilities that do not have a protocol for assisting people in situations of sexual violence), making clear the interventions necessary to promote the provision of quality health services that meet the specific needs of people in situations of sexual violence. These indicators are expected to provide subsidies for the improvement of public policies aimed at listening, welcoming, identifying, and treating people in situations of sexual violence.

Relationship between Psychological Status and Health Behaviors during the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic in Japanese Community-Dwelling Older Adults

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to be a widespread pandemic. We investigated the relationship between anxiety/stress and health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in homebound Japanese older adults during January and February 2021. We surveyed 1507 community-dwelling, older Japanese adults using a self-administered questionnaire on primary attributes, including family structure, evaluation of psychological anxiety/stress, and health behaviors. Participants were divided into four anxiety/stress groups based on the frequency of experiencing anxiety/stress, and their association with health behaviors was analyzed using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Responses were received from 469 (31.1%) respondents. In the bivariate analysis, age and family structure were significantly associated with anxiety/stress (p < 0.01). The health behaviors significantly associated with anxiety/stress were walking, balanced eating habits, limited snacking, regular lifestyle, and dental visits. Logistic regression analysis was performed using the variables in the bivariate analysis that showed a significant association with anxiety/stress status as independent variables. Finally, age and dietary habits were significantly associated with anxiety/stress status. No significant associations were found between any other variables. Among older adults living in the rural areas of Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety/stress status was significantly associated with age and dietary habits but not with other health behaviors.

3D Internal Visualization of Concrete Structure Using Multifaceted Data for Ultrasonic Array Pulse-Echo Tomography

This research proposes a 3D internal visualization using ultrasonic pulse-echo tomography technique to evaluate accurately the state of concrete structures for their efficient maintenance within a limited budget. Synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) is used as a post-processing algorithm to manipulate the data measured by the ultrasonic pulse-echo technique. Multifaceted measurements improve the weakness of the existing ultrasonic pulse-echo tomography technique that cannot identify the area beyond a reflector as well as the area located far away from measuring surfaces. The application of apodization factor, pulse peak delay calibration and elimination of trivial response not only complements the weaknesses of the SAFT algorithm but also improves the accuracy of the SAFT algorithm. The results show that the proposed method reduces the unnecessary surface noise and improves the expressiveness of the reflector’s boundaries on the resulting images. It is expected that the proposed 3D internal visualization technique will provide a useful non-destructive evaluation tool in combination with another structure evaluation method.

rsRNASP: A residue-separation-based statistical potential for RNA 3D structure evaluation

Knowledge-based statistical potentials have been shown to be rather effective in protein 3-dimensional (3D) structure evaluation and prediction. Recently, several statistical potentials have been developed for RNA 3D structure evaluation, while their performances are either still at low level for the test datasets from structure prediction models or dependent on the "black-box" process through neural networks. In this work, we have developed an all-atom distance-dependent statistical potential based on residue separation for RNA 3D structure evaluation, namely rsRNASP, which is composed of short- and long-ranged potentials distinguished by residue separation. The extensive examinations against available RNA test datasets show that, rsRNASP has apparently higher performance than the existing statistical potentials for the realistic test datasets with large RNAs from structure prediction models including the newly released RNA-Puzzles dataset, and is comparable to the existing top statistical potentials for the test datasets with small RNAs or near-native decoys. Additionally, rsRNASP is also superior to RNA3DCNN, a recently developed scoring function through 3D convolutional neural networks. rsRNASP and the relevant databases are available at website https://github.com/Tan-group/rsRNASP.

Applying NMR T2 Spectral Parameters in Pore Structure Evaluation—An Example from an Eocene Low-Permeability Sandstone Reservoir

The Eocene low-permeability sandstone reservoirs in the Dongying Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China host a significant amount of oil reserves. The development of the reservoirs has been hampered by our inability to understand the complex and heterogeneous pore structures of the reservoirs. In this study, the pore systems, pore sizes, pore connectivity, and movable fluid distribution of the Eocene Shahejie Formation (Es4) sandstone reservoirs were investigated using an integrated analysis of optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The full-range pore structures of the Es4 sandstone reservoirs were evaluated by using NMR experiments. Various NMR T2 spectral parameters suitable for describing the pore structures and movable fluid distribution were extracted through morphological and statistical analysis of NMR T2 spectra. In combination with corresponding MICP data and petrophysical properties, we have demonstrated the reliability and robustness of the T2 spectral parameters for pore structure characterization. Four types of pore structures (I, II, III, and IV) were distinguished from the NMR T2 spectral parameters in association with other petrophysical properties and macroscopic behaviors. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of using the NMR T2 spectral parameters to characterize and classify micropore structures, which may be applied to effectively evaluate and predict low-permeability reservoir quality.