Showing papers by "Russian Academy of Sciences published in 1993"

Structure and properties of ultrafine-grained materials produced by severe plastic deformation

Abstract: Strain-heat methods of obtaining ultrafine-grained (UFG) metallic materials with grain sizes as small as 20 nm and peculiarities of their structure are considered. It is shown that intercrystalline boundaries are the main element of the structure of UFG materials and that they are typically in a non-equilibrium state. The formation of a special grain boundary phase, i.e. a thin near-boundary layer with high dynamic activity of atoms, has been found. This unusual structure leads to the manifestation of promising new elastic, strength, superplastic, damping and magnetic properties of UFG materials.

Hilbert's tenth problem

Abstract: At the 1900 International Congress of Mathematicians, held that year in Paris, the German mathematician David Hilbert put forth a list of 23 unsolved problems that he saw as being the greatest challenges for twentieth-century mathematics. Hilbert's 10th problem, to find a method (what we now call an algorithm) for deciding whether a Diophantine equation has an integral solution, was solved by Yuri Matiyasevich in 1970. Proving the undecidability of Hilbert's 10th problem is clearly one of the great mathematical results of the century.This book presents the full, self-contained negative solution of Hilbert's 10th problem. In addition it contains a number of diverse, often striking applications of the technique developed for that solution (scattered previously in journals), describes the many improvements and modifications of the original proof - since the problem was "unsolved" 20 years ago, and adds several new, previously unpublished proofs.Included are numerous exercises that range in difficulty from the elementary to small research problems, open questions,and unsolved problems. Each chapter concludes with a commentary providing a historical view of its contents. And an extensive bibliography contains references to all of the main publications directed to the negative solution of Hilbert's 10th problem as well as the majority of the publications dealing with applications of the solution.Intended for young mathematicians, Hilbert's 10th Problem requires only a modest mathematical background. A few less well known number-theoretical results are presented in the appendixes. No knowledge of recursion theory is presupposed. All necessary notions are introduced and defined in the book, making it suitable for the first acquaintance with this fascinating subject.Yuri Matiyasevich is Head of the Laboratory of Mathematical Logic, Steklov Institute of Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg.

Use of fast protein size-exclusion liquid chromatography to study the unfolding of proteins which denature through the molten globule

Abstract: Fast protein size-exclusion liquid chromatography (SEC-FPLC) was used to study solvent-induced unfolding of six proteins. Two of them (sperm whale myoglobin and hen white lysozyme) denature on the simple N (native) U (completely unfolded) scheme. The other four proteins [bovine and human alpha-lactalbumin, bovine carbonic anhydrase B (BCAB), and beta-lactamase from Staphylococcus aureus] denature through the molten globule (MG) state (i.e., on the N MG U denaturation scheme). We have shown that the permeation properties of the Superose 12 columns are practically independent of temperature, pH, and denaturants in wide concentration intervals. In the case of myoglobin and lysozyme denaturation at 4 degrees C (when the exchange between the native and unfolded states is slower than the characteristic time of chromatography), a bimodal distribution on molecular dimensions in the transition region was observed. This indicates that, under denaturant action, protein molecules can only be in one of the two states with different compactness. In other words, this shows that FPLC is one of the most direct approaches to establish the "all-or-none" mechanism of the equilibrium solvent-induced denaturation of globular proteins. The curves of guanidinium hydrochloride- (GdmHCl) or urea-induced unfolding (N U or MG U transitions) of a protein on a column (monitored either by the relative areas of two peaks or--for fast exchange--by the position of the average peak) coincide with those monitored by far-UV CD in solution. The Stokes radius values obtained with the use of FPLC for the molten globule states of BCAB (1.6 M GdmHCl in 0.1 M sodium phosphate, pH 6.8, and acid form at pH 3.6) and for the human alpha-lactalbumin molten globule (2.0 M GdmHCl in 0.1 M sodium phosphate, pH 6.8) coincide with those known from literature. Thus, it has been shown that fast protein size-exclusion liquid chromatography (FPLC) is an "inert" technique, i.e., it does not shift the equilibrium between N, MG, and U states and, therefore, can be used for qualitative and quantitative studies of protein denaturation.

Sturgeons and Paddlefishes: Threatened Fishes in Need of Conservation

Abstract: A review of endangered and threatened chondrostean (sturgeon and paddlefish) species is given It is shown that at least three species from the territory of the former Soviet Union are the most endangered Among them is the large Amu-Dar shovelnose Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni, which seems to be the last survivor of the most primitive group among sturgeons, still living in the region where it originated These facts call for quick conservation efforts Because of the present economic crisis in Russia, there is no hope that such effort can be made by Russian scientists alone Saving sturgeons should be a goal of the international community Resumen: Se presenta una revision de especies condrosteas (esturion y pez espatula) en peligro y amenazadas Se muestra que por lo menos tres especies del territorio de la ex Union Sovietica son las mas comprometidas Entre ellas se encuentra el gran Amu-Dar Pseudoscaphirhyncus kaufmanni, que parece ser el ultimo sobreviviente del grupo mas primitivo de esturiones, que aun vive en la region donde fue originado Estos hechos claman un pronto esfuerzo conservacionista Debido a la crisis economica actual en Rusia, no hay esperanzas de que tales esfuerzos puedan ser realizados solo par cientificos rusos La salvacion de los esturiones deberia ser un objetivo de la comunidad internacional

Ultra-depleted primary melt included in an olivine from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Abstract: MODELS of magma genesis at mid-ocean ridges1, together with recent experimental data2 and observations of trace element abundances in clinopyroxenes from abyssal peridotites3, suggest that small-volume melt fractions can be efficiently extracted from the melting mantle. As shown in ref. 3, residues of this type of melting (fractional melting) display extremely low abundances of incompatible trace elements and extreme fractionation amongst them, especially at advanced stages of the process because of the compounded effects of differences in the partition coefficients. If this process operates beneath mid-ocean ridges, one would expect to sample melts that are correspondingly depleted and fractionated in trace elements. Indeed, the existence of very depleted melts in mid-ocean ridges was predicted previously4–6 in order to explain the presence of magnesian pyroxene and calcic plagioclase in mid-ocean-ridge basalts. We report here the discovery of melt that has major and trace element characteristics consistent with these predictions4–6, occurring as an inclusion in an olivine phenocryst in a typical mid-ocean-ridge basalt from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Although our preferred model for the origin of this 'ultra-depleted' melt is critical (continuous) melting, we cannot at this stage rule out other models. Our results underscore the importance of trapped melt inclusions as recorders of the processes involved in melting and melt extraction, and also as pointers to primary melt compositions.

Remobilisation of the continental lithosphere by a mantle plume: major-, trace-element, and Sr-, Nd-, and Pb-isotope evidence from picritic and tholeiitic lavas of the Noril'sk District, Siberian Trap, Russia

Abstract: The Late Permian to Early Triassic Siberian Traps have been sampled by drill core (core SG-9) and from surface exposure (section 1F) in the Noril'sk region of the Siberian Platform, Russia. Combined major, trace element, and Nd-, Sr-, and Pb-isotope data on selected samples through the Siberia Trap, offer new chemostratigraphic criteria for the identification and characterisation of two fundamentally different magma types and 9 of the 11 formations of lava developed near Noril'sk. A Lower Sequence of sub-alkalic basalts, tholeiites, and picritic basalts (upwards these are the Ivakinsky, Syverminsky, and Gudchichinsky formations) are overlain by an Upper Sequence of picritic basalts and tholeiites interbedded with tuffs (upwards, these are the Khakanchansky, Tuklonsky, Nadezhdinsky, Morongovsky, Mokulaevsky and Kharayelakhsky formations).The Gudchichinsky and Tuklonsky formations contain both picritic and tholeiitic lavas. The Tuklonsky formation tholeiites and picrites have moderate Gd/Yb (1.6–1.8), low TiO2 (0.45–0.95 wt%), a significant negative Ta and Nb anomaly (Nb/La =0.42–0.57) and unradiogenic Nd (ɛ Nd CHUR = to -4.6). In contrast, both the Gudchichinsky formation tholeiites and picrites have high Gd/Yb (2.3–3.1), and TiO2 (1.2–2.3 wt%), no significant Nb or Ta anomaly (Nb/La =0.8–1.1), and radiogenic Nd (ɛ Nd CHUR = to 7.3). The low-Ti and Nb/La, high La/Sm, and unradiogenic Nd-isotope signatures of the picritic Tuklonsky formation lavas and the tholeiitic lavas of the Upper Sequence are characteristic of magmas strongly influenced by material from the continental lithosphere, whereas the high-Ti and Nb/La, low La/Sm and radiogenic Nd-isotope signatures of the Lower Sequence are more comparable to deeper asthenospheric mantle-plume generated lavas similar to oceanic island basalts. The lavas overlying the Tuklonsky formation have mg-numbers of 0.63 to 0.68, and are more evolved than the Tuklonsky (Mg-number < 0.62) and have more radiogenic ɛ Nd CHUR (Tuklonsky:-0.03 to-4.66; Mokulaevsky: + 0.60 to + 1.61), but have many of the incompatible trace element features of the Tuklonsky sky type magma. These lavas show a progressive upwards decline in SiO2 (55–49 wt%), La/Sm (4.6–2.0), and ɛ UR Sr ( + 67 to + 13) which has previously been attributed to a decrease in the proportion of crustal material contributed to the magma. This paper explores and alternative model where a component of the crustal contribution might be derived from within an ancient region of the mantle lithosphere as recycled sediment rather than from the overlying continental crust.

Axion miniclusters and Bose stars

Abstract: Evolution of inhomogeneities in the axion field around the QCD epoch is studied numerically, including for the first time important nonlinear effects. It is found that perturbations on scales corresponding to causally disconnected regions at T\ensuremath{\sim}1 GeV can lead to very dense axion clumps, with present density ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\rho}}}_{\mathit{a}}$\ensuremath{\gtrsim}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}8}$ g ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}3}$. This is high enough for the collisional 2a\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2a process to lead to Bose-Einstein relaxation in the gravitationally bound clumps of axions, forming Bose stars.

Structural model for ferrihydrite

Abstract: The structure of 6-line and 2-line ferrihydrite (Fh) has been reconsidered. X-ray diffraction (XRD) curves were first simulated for the different structural models so far proposed, and it is shown that neither of these corresponds to the actual structure of ferrihydrite. On the basis of agreement between experimental and simulated XRD curves it is shown that Fh is a mixture of three components: (i) Defect-free Fh consisting of anionic ABACA... close packing in which Fe atoms occupy only octahedral sites with 50% probability; the hexagonal unit-cell parameters are a = 2.96/k and c = 9.40 A, and the space group is P31c. (ii) Defective Fh in which AClBC2A and AblCb2A structural fragments occur with equal probability and alternate completely at random; Fe atoms within each of these fragments have identical ordered distribution within the hexagonal super-cell with a = 5.126 A. (iii) Ultradispersed hematite with mean dimension of coherent scattering domains (CSD) of 10-20 A. The main structural difference between 6-line and 2-line Fh is the size of their CSD which is extremely small for the latter structure. Nearest Fe-Fe distances calculated for this new structural model are very close to those determined by EXAFS spectroscopy on the same samples. Ferrihydrite (Fh) belongs to the group of ferric oxyhydroxides and is characterized by high dispersion, poor crystallinity and low stability (Chukhrov et al., 1973; Schwertmann & Fischer, 1973; Carlson & Schwertmann, 1981). It is a metastable compound which can be easily transformed into goethite (cvFeOOH) and hematite (atZe203; Blesa, 1989). In natural environments Fh occurs in sediments, soils and weathering crusts, being formed through precipitation from Fe-rich oxidized solutions (Schwertmann, 1988). It can be easily synthesized under laboratory conditions by hydrolysing ferric or ferrous salts (Towe & Bradley, 1967; Murphy et al., 1976; Schwertmann & Taylor, 1972). According to Harrison et al. (1967), the cores of ferritin macromolecules could be composed of ferrihydrite but the

Dormancy in non-sporulating bacteria

Abstract: \"All stood amazed, until an old woman, tottering out from among the crowd, put her hand to her brow, and peering under it in his face for a moment exclaimed , 'Sure enough! it is Rip Van Winkle-it is himself. Welcome home again, old neighbour-Why, where have you been these twenty long years?\"' lrving, W. An analogical \"field\" construct in cellular biophysics: history and present status. \"These germs-these bacilli-are transparent bodies. Like glass. Like water. To make them visible you must stain them. Well, my dear Paddy, do what you will, some of them won't stain; they won't take cochineal, they won't take any methylene blue, they won't take gentian violet, they won't take any colouring matter. Consequently, though we know as scientific men that they exist, we cannot see them.\" Sir Ralph Bloomfield-Bonington. The Doctor's Dilemma.

Gas dynamics and film profiles in pulsed-laser deposition of materials.

Abstract: Film-thickness profiles obtained in pulsed-laser deposition are calculated by using the well-known solution of the gas-dynamic equations which describes the expansion of the plasma plume in vacuum. The time for plasma formation is supposed to be short compared with the time of expansion. The film profile depends on the initial dimensions of the plume and on the adiabatic exponent of the vapor.

Metaphor in Political Discourse: The Case of the `Common European House'

Abstract: The metaphor of the `common European house' appeared in political discourse in several European languages in the late 1980s. Political discourse, usually treated in a domestic single-language persp...

Holocene dwarf mammoths from Wrangel Island in the Siberian Arctic

Abstract: THE cause of extinction of the woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius (Blumenbach), is still debated. A major environmental change at the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary, hunting by early man, or both together are among the main explanations that have been suggested. But hardly anyone has doubted that mammoths had become extinct everywhere by around 9,500 years before present (BP). We report here new discoveries on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean that force this view to be revised. Along with normal-sized mammoth fossils dating to the end of the Pleistocene, numerous teeth of dwarf mammoth dated 7,000-4,000 yr BP have been found there. The island is thought to have become separated from the mainland by 12,000 yr BP. Survival of a mammoth population may be explained by local topography and climatic features, which permitted relictual preservation of communities of steppe plants. We interpret the dwarfing of the Wrangel mammoths as a result of the insularity effect, combined with a response to the general trend towards unfavourable environment in the Holocene.

Several NP-hard problems arising in robust stability analysis

Abstract: We demonstrate that it is NP-hard to check whether all representatives of a square interval matrix share any of the following four properties: positive semidefiniteness, provided that the matrix is symmetric; norm ≤ 1; nonsingularity (NP-hardness of this particular problem was established recently by Poljak and Rohn); or stability (all eigenvalues in the open left half-plane).

Polytype diversity of the hydrotalcite-like minerals; I, Possible polytypes and their diffraction features

Abstract: Akstract--All possible polytypes of hydrotalcite-like minerals with a periodicity along the c axis of one-, two- and three-layers, as well as the simplest six-layer polytypes, were derived on the basis of the concept of closely packed brucite-like layers. Multilayer structures were found to be possible in several polytype modifications--three two-layer, nine three-layer, and a set of six-layer polytypes. The neighboring layers may be stacked in two different ways, building two kinds of interlayers: P-type where OH sheets lie one above another forming prisms and O-type where OH groups forms octahedra. Based on the kind of interlayer space, all polytypes may be separated into three groups: homogeneous interlayers of O-, or P-type, and alternating interlayers of both types. For the members of the first two groups, powder XRD patterns were calculated and criteria for distinguishing polytypes with the same number of layers per unit cell are suggested.

On the structure, stress fields and energy of nonequilibrium grain boundaries

Abstract: The changes of grain boundary (GB) structure caused by the absorption of lattice dislocations are analysed. The typical result of the absorption is the disordering of networks of disclination dipoles/grain boundary dislocations (GBDs). It is shown that the variance of GBD spacings is a good quantitative measure of the degree of GB structure nonequilibrium. By the use of Monte Carlo technique the abating law of x − 1 2 for long range stress fields of disordered GBD networks is obtained. Excess energies of nonequilibrium boundaries are also calculated. In strongly excited state of GBs characterized by the maximum value of the variance of GBD spacings the excess energy can exceed the equilibrium GB energy. Such high-nonequilibrium boundaries can exist in ultrafine grained materials.

Local structure of ferrihydrite and feroxyhite by exafs spectroscopy

Abstract: Synthetic 2-line and 6-line ferrihydrite and feroxyhite samples prepared from ferric salt solutions have been investigated by EXAFS spectroscopy. All these materials have been found to be short-range ordered, consisting of Fe octahedra linked by comers, edges, and faces. Their local structures are related to those of well-crystallized (oxyhydr)oxides, and the absence of hkl reflections in some samples is attributed to the small size of coherent scattering domains. The presence of face sharings indicates that these materials have structural similarities with hematite. Based on Fe-Fe distances and the analysis of the static disorder, it has been concluded that the local structure of feroxyhite is close to that of hematite, whereas ferrihydrite has common structural features with both hematite (αFe203) and cdβFeOOFI. The local structure of ferrihydrite thus differs from that of aqueous Fe polymers obtained by the partial hydrolysis of ferric nitrate and chloride solutions. Differences of local structures among hydrous Fe oxides and aqueous polymers have been interpreted on the basis of a room temperature stability phase diagram established for well-crystallized (oxyhydr)oxides.

Synthesis of polymeric neoglycoconjugates based on N-substituted polyacrylamides.

Abstract: Several types of polymeric glycoconjugates, N-substituted polyacrylamides, have been synthesized by the reaction of activated polymers with omega-aminoalkylglycosides: (i) (carbohydrate-spacer)n-polyacrylamide, 'pseudopolysaccharides'; (ii) (carbohydrate-spacer)n-phosphatidylethanolaminem-polyacrylamide, neoglycolipids, derivatives of phosphatidylethanolamine; (iii) (carbohydrate-spacer)n-biotin-polyacrylamide, biotinylated probes; (iv) (carbohydrate-spacer)n-polyacrylamide-(macroporous glass), affinity sorbents based on macroporous glass, covalently coated with polyacrylamide. An almost quantitative yield in the conjunction reaction makes it possible to insert in the conjugate a predetermined quantity of the ligand(s). Pseudopolysaccharides proved to be a suitable form of antigen for activation of polystyrene and poly(vinyl chloride) plates (ELISA) and nitrocellulose membranes (dot blot), being advantageous over traditional neoglycoproteins. Polyvalent glycolipids insert well in biological membranes: their physical properties, particularly solubility, can be changed in a desired direction. Biotinylated derivatives were used as probes for detection and analysis of lectins.

DNA unwinding upon strand-displacement binding of a thymine-substituted polyamide to double-stranded DNA.

Abstract: It was recently found that polyamide nucleic acid (PNA) analogues consisting of thymines attached to an aminoethylglycine backbone bind strongly and sequence-selectively to adenine sequences of oligonucleotides and double-stranded DNA [Nielsen, P. E., Egholm, M., Berg, R. H. & Buchardt, O. (1991) Science 254, 1497-1500]. It was concluded that the binding to double-stranded DNA was accomplished via strand displacement, in which the PNA bound to the Watson-Crick complementary adenine-containing strand, whereas the thymine-containing strand was extruded in a virtually single-stranded conformation. This model may provide a general way in which to obtain sequence-specific recognition of any sequence in double-stranded DNA by Watson-Crick hydrogen-bonding base-pair recognition, and it is thus paramount to rigorously establish this binding mode for synthetic DNA-binding ligands. We now report such results from electron microscopy. Furthermore, we show that binding of PNA to closed circular DNA results in unwinding of the double helix corresponding to approximately one turn of the double helix per 10 base pairs. The DNA.PNA complex, which is formed at low salt concentration (only a small portion of DNA molecules show complex formation at NaCl concentration higher than 40 mM), is exceptionally kinetically stable and cannot be dissociated by increasing salt concentration up to 500 mM.