Sanctions and international interaction improve cooperation to avert climate change.

Imposing sanctions on non-compliant parties to international agreements is advocated as a remedy for international cooperation failure. Nevertheless, sanctions are costly, and rational choice theory predicts their ineffectiveness in improving cooperation. We test sanctions effectiveness experimentally in international collective-risk social dilemmas simulating efforts to avoid catastrophic climate change.

Electronic properties of the two-dimensional (Tl, Rb)/Si(1 1 1)[Formula: see text] compound having a honeycomb-like structure.

Heavy metal layers having a honeycomb structure on the Si(1 1 1) surface were theoretically predicted to show prospects for possessing properties of the quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulators. The (Tl, Rb)/Si(1 1 1)[Formula: see text] atomic-layer compound synthesized in the present work is the first real system of such type, where atoms of heavy metal Tl are arranged into the honeycomb structure stabilized by Rb atoms occupying the centers of the honeycomb units. Electronic properties of the (Tl, Rb)/Si(1 1 1)[Formula: see text] compound has been fully characterized experimentally and theoretically and compared with those of the hypothetical (Tl, H)/Si(1 1 1)[Formula: see text] prototype system.

[PLASTICITY OF THE THERMAL REACTION NORMS FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE EUROPEAN PEACOCK BUTTERLY INACHIS IO (LEPIDOPTERA, NYMPHALIDAE)].

The goal of this study was to examine the plasticity of the thermal reaction norms for development in the European Peacock butterfly Inachis io under the effect of different photoperiodic conditions and group versus individual maintenance. The overwintered imagoes were collected in Old Peterhof (near Saint-Petersburg) in May, 2010 and 2012-2013. 12 experimental regimens were used: 4 temperatures (16, 18, 20 and 22 degrees C) and 3 photoperiods (12, 18 and 22 h of light a day).

Effect of Na adsorption on the structural and electronic properties of Si(111)√3 × √3-Au surface.

Adsorption of ∼0.1 ML of Na onto the Si(111)√3 × √3-Au surface held at 300 °C has been found to induce pronounced changes in its structural and electronic properties. Domain wall networks, characteristic of the pristine surface, are removed completely, leading to the formation of a highly ordered homogeneous surface.

Self-assembly of conductive Cu nanowires on Si(111)'5 × 5 '-Cu surface.

Upon room-temperature deposition onto a Cu/Si(111)'5 × 5' surface in ultra-high vacuum, Cu atoms migrate over extended distances to become trapped at the step edges, where they form Cu nanowires (NWs). The formed NWs are 20-80 nm wide, 1-3 nm high and characterized by a resistivity of ∼8 µΩ cm. The surface conductance of the NW array is anisotropic, with the conductivity along the NWs being about three times greater than that in the perpendicular direction.

[The efficacy of health resort treatment of psoriatic arthritis at Yevpatoriya].

The authors analyze the efficacy of treatment of 162 patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis in Evpatoria health resort. The treatment modalities included brine baths, mud applications, climatotherapy, etc. Clinical cure or considerable improvement has been achieved in 21.