Factors associated with increase in alcohol consumption during first months of COVID‑19 pandemic among online social media users in Russia

The significant proportion of the Russian population are active online social media users. Changes in alcohol consumption in this target group during the COVID-19 pandemic remain understudied. The aim of this survey was to investigate changes in alcohol consumption and factors associated with the increase in alcohol use among online social media users in Russia during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was conducted among 1,518 users of online social networking services popular in Russia from June to September 2020. The survey revealed that 35.4% of men and 25.6% of women started drinking more frequently during the first months of the pandemic; 24.9% of men and 17.7% of women increased their usual consumption (volume) of alcohol on a typical drinking occasion, whereas 28.5% of men and 27.9% of women increased the frequency of heavy episodic drinking. Adjusted binary logistic regression analysis revealed a positive association between the increase in the frequency of alcohol consumption and the following factors: age from 18 to 29 years (OR: 1.710; 95% CI: 1.002–2.917), severe restrictions in everyday private life (OR: 3.127; 95% CI: 1.011–9.675) and severe negative professional or financial consequences due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (OR: 2.247; 95% CI: 1.131–4.465). The odds of an increase in the frequency of heavy episodic drinking were more than twice higher (OR: 2.329; 95% CI: 1.001–5.428) among those who had experienced severe negative consequences of the pandemic to their professional and financial situation. Higher typical frequency and usual consumption (volume) of alcohol on a typical drinking occasion and higher typical frequency of heavy episodic drinking before the pandemic were positively significantly associated with the increase in these parameters of alcohol consumption during the first months of the pandemic. In times of large-scale epidemics and public health crises, it is advisable to consider the possibility of implementing screening and brief interventions, including via online social media, to prevent problems associated with alcohol use.

Optimized Planar Microwave Antenna for Nitrogen Vacancy Center Based Sensing Applications

Individual nitrogen vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond are versatile, spin-based quantum sensors. Coherently controlling the spin of NV centers using microwaves in a typical frequency range between 2.5 and 3.5 GHz is necessary for sensing applications. In this work, we present a stripline-based, planar, Ω-shaped microwave antenna that enables one to reliably manipulate NV spins. We found an optimal antenna design using finite integral simulations. We fabricated our antennas on low-cost, transparent glass substrate. We created highly uniform microwave fields in areas of roughly 400 × 400 μm2 while realizing high Rabi frequencies of up to 10 MHz in an ensemble of NV centers.

Radio Frequency Link and User Selection Algorithm for 5G Mobile Communication System

Based on the millimetre-wave time-domain channel detector, this paper conducts channel measurement and modelling for different scenarios and antenna types in typical frequency bands and thus carries out a study on the propagation characteristics of millimetre-wave channels in typical frequency bands and scenarios for 5G. The time-varying characteristics and modelling methods of millimetre-wave clusters are studied, and the time-varying channel simulation strategy and linear regression fitting method are used to establish the time-varying generation and extinction model of clusters by combining the measured data of 26 GHz large-scale antenna channels. The algorithm is based on the correlation dictionary and achieves the efficient and optimal selection of large-scale antenna arrays in the millimetre-wave band. A low-complexity multiuser hybrid precoding design scheme is proposed based on the wideband millimetre-wave large-scale Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) system. The scheme aims to maximize the system spectral efficiency and introduces the net spectral efficiency as a bridge to decouple the analogy precoding design from the digital precoding design, thus significantly reducing the computational complexity. In the analogy precoding stage, a Hungarian algorithm-based beam assignment method is proposed to avoid beam conflicts and maximize the net spectral efficiency of the system; in the digital precoding stage, the equivalent channel matrix of each subcarrier is diagonalized to eliminate multiuser interference. Finally, the effectiveness of the scheme is verified by simulation. In this paper, we focus on the radio frequency (RF) link and user selection algorithm of 5G mobile communication system. Through the study of these two aspects, the RF link of our communication system has high stability and reliability, and through the study of the algorithm used for selection, our results also have a strong practical value.

Frequency Spectra Analysis of Drawbar Pulls Generated by Special Driving Wheels Improving Tractive Performance

Driving wheel operation is characterized by force interactions with the ground, manifested in the form of vibrations. Signals generated by driving wheels can be analyzed in the frequency spectrum of tractor drawbar pull. The paper presents the analysis of a drawbar pull signal generated by a tractor equipped with two types of special driving wheels and standard tires. Beside the evaluation of special driving wheels’ properties according to drawbar power, the frequency spectra of measured signals were analyzed using a fast Fourier transformation. The model spectrum intervals for the standard tires, spike tires, and blade wheels were calculated according to the number of rubber lugs, blades, or spikes and compared with the experimental results. The results showed that the specific frequencies typical for blades and spikes were identified in model spectrum intervals. In the case of standard tires, the spectrum components typical for rubber lugs of the tire tread pattern were not identified. The highest amplitude of the typical frequency component was detected in the case of blades wheels, which showed the highest difference in drawbar power in comparison with the standard tires. Smaller dimensions of spikes resulted in lower amplitude and lower difference in drawbar power in comparison with the standard tires.

Flashing spots on the dorsal trunk of hardyhead silverside fish

A large number of living creatures are able to use ambient light effectively in biological signalling. Atherinomorus lacunosus , a teleost fish has alignments of circular spots on its dorsal trunk. The spot consists of iridophores, whose diameters are approximately 7–10 µm. The iridophore contains guanine crystals with diameters of 1–3 µm. Here, it is found that more than one spot with a diameter of approximately 0.1 mm causes a rhythmic flashing of light when viewed under white light. The typical light flash has a pulse width of approximately one second. When a pulsed train of flashes appears, the flash repeats at a typical frequency of 0.5–1 Hz. The observed phenomenon is one example of the evidence for the existence of rapid colour changing teleost fish.

Marijuana Use Grid: A Brief, Comprehensive Measure of Marijuana Use

The present study introduces a brief, yet comprehensive retrospective self-report measure of frequency and quantity of marijuana use: the Marijuana Use Grid (MUG). Using two large samples of college student marijuana users recruited from several universities throughout the United States, we characterized how various indicators of marijuana use frequency and quantity relate to consequences and symptoms of cannabis use disorder (CUD), and whether marijuana use frequency and quantity as assessed by the MUG predict outcomes above and beyond the effect(s) of a simple measure of marijuana use frequency. Typical frequency and quantity estimates from the MUG interacted to predict marijuana-related outcomes. The MUG has shown utility in its association with important outcomes and given its brief nature, the MUG can easily be integrated in future marijuana studies. Additional work is needed to examine the predictive utility of the MUG in the context of other marijuana-related assessments.

Reliability and accuracy of systems of the natural environment control. Part 3

The assessment of the feasibility of hydrophysical experiments in typical frequency ranges of variability of random processes with power-law spectra (-5/3), taking into account the reliability and accuracy of measuring instruments and methods of conducting experiments is carried out. It is shown that, at the current level of technology, a non-recoverable system can implement experiments with a probability of 0.95 only for small-scale and mesoscale processes. The requirements for the minimum reliability of the nodes of the probabilistic space-time lattice of measurements for the given parameters of experiments are determined. It is shown that a non-recoverable system with a reliability of 0.99 is realizable only for small-scale and mesoscale processes. It is shown that the experimental error depends on reliability extremely for rough and unreliable systems and monotonically for accurate and reliable systems.

Research for the Presence of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle inside Closed Environments with Acoustic Measurements

Small UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicle) can be used in many sectors such as the acquisition of images or the transport of objects. Small UAVs have also been used for terrorist activities or to disturb the flight of airplanes. Due to the small size and the presence of only rotating parts, drones escape traditional controls and therefore represent a danger. This paper reports a methodology for identifying the presence of small UAVs inside a closed environment by measuring the noise emitted during the flight. Acoustic measurements of the noise emitted by a drone inside a large environment (12.0 × 30.0 × 12.0 m) were performed. The noise was measured with a sound level meter placed at different distances (5, 10, and 15 m), to characterize the noise in the absence of anthropic noise. In this configuration, a typical tonal component of drone noise is highlighted at the frequency of one-third of an octave at 5000 Hz due to the rotation of the blades. This component is also present 15 m away from the source point. Subsequent measurements were performed by introducing into the environment, through a loudspeaker, the anthropogenic noise produced by the buzz of people and background music. It is possible to distinguish the typical tonal component of UAV noise at the frequency of 5000 Hz even when the level of recording of anthropogenic noise emitted by the loudspeaker is at the maximum power tested. It is therefore possible to search for the presence of small UAVs inside a specific closed environment with only acoustic measurements, paying attention to the typical frequency of noise emission equal to 5000 Hz.