Discrete heat equation for a periodic layered system with allowance for the interfacial thermal resistance: General formulation and dispersion analysis.

Discrete heat equations for the multilayered periodic systems with allowance for the thermal resistance between the layers and corresponding dispersion relations in ω-k space have been derived and analyzed. The discrete equations imply a finite velocity of thermal disturbances and guarantee the positiveness of the solutions. Analytical expressions for the attenuation distance, and phase and group velocities have been obtained as functions of frequency and thermal resistance between the discrete layers.

Possible Eliashberg-Type Superconductivity Enhancement Effects in a Two-Band Superconductor MgB_{2} Driven by Narrow-Band THz Pulses.

We study THz-driven condensate dynamics in epitaxial thin films of MgB_{2}, a prototype two-band superconductor (SC) with weak interband coupling. The temperature and excitation density dependent dynamics follow the behavior predicted by the phenomenological bottleneck model for the single-gap SC, implying adiabatic coupling between the two condensates on the ps timescale. The amplitude of the THz-driven suppression of condensate density reveals an unexpected decrease in pair-breaking efficiency with increasing temperature-unlike in the case of optical excitation.

Rapid Multicomponent Alloy Solidification with Allowance for the Local Nonequilibrium and Cross-Diffusion Effects.

Motivated by the fast development of various additive manufacturing technologies, we consider a mathematical model of re-solidification of multicomponent metal alloys, which takes place after ultrashort (femtosecond) pulse laser melting of a metal surface. The re-solidification occurs under highly nonequilibrium conditions when solutes diffusion in the bulk liquid cannot be described by the classical diffusion equation of parabolic type (Fick law) but is governed by diffusion equation of hyperbolic type. In addition, the model takes into account diffusive interaction between different solutes (nonzero off-diagonal terms of the diffusion matrix).

Optically Triggered Néel Vector Manipulation of a Metallic Antiferromagnet MnAu under Strain.

The absence of stray fields, their insensitivity to external magnetic fields, and ultrafast dynamics make antiferromagnets promising candidates for active elements in spintronic devices. Here, we demonstrate manipulation of the Néel vector in the metallic collinear antiferromagnet MnAu by combining strain and femtosecond laser excitation. Applying tensile strain along either of the two in-plane easy axes and locally exciting the sample by a train of femtosecond pulses, we align the Néel vector along the direction controlled by the applied strain.

Heat Transport on Ultrashort Time and Space Scales in Nanosized Systems: Diffusive or Wave-like?

The non-Fourier effects, such as wave-like temperature propagation and boundary temperature jumps, arise in nanosized systems due to the multiple time and space scales nature of out-of-equilibrium heat transport. The relaxation to equilibrium occurs in successive time and space scales due to couplings between different excitations, whose relaxation times have different physical meanings and may differ significantly in magnitude. The out-of-equilibrium temperature evolution is described by a hierarchy of partial differential equations of a higher order, which includes both the diffusive and wave modes of heat transport.

Surface erosion events controlled the evolution of plate tectonics on Earth.

Plate tectonics is among the most important geological processes on Earth, but its emergence and evolution remain unclear. Here we extrapolate models of present-day plate tectonics to the past and propose that since about three billion years ago the rise of continents and the accumulation of sediments at continental edges and in trenches has provided lubrication for the stabilization of subduction and has been crucial in the development of plate tectonics on Earth. We conclude that the two largest surface erosion and subduction lubrication events occurred after the Palaeoproterozoic Huronian global glaciations (2.

Relation between Self-Organization and Wear Mechanisms of Diamond Films.

The study deals with tribological properties of diamond films that were tested under reciprocal sliding conditions against SiN balls. Adhesive and abrasive wear are explained in terms of nonequilibrium thermodynamic model of friction and wear. Surface roughness alteration and film deformation induce instabilities in the tribological system, therefore self-organization can occur.

On the nucleus composition during isothermal alloy solidification.

Accurate determination of the nucleus composition during isothermal alloy solidification still represents a great challenge nowadays. In this paper, a kinetic scheme was added to the Hillert-Rettenmayr thermodynamic analysis of the deviation from local equilibrium at migrating phase interfaces. A so-called interface permeability was introduced to account for the unambiguous determination of the energy dissipation of the solute rearrangement at the liquid-solid interface and the driving force for interface movement, from which the nucleus composition can be then evaluated.

Hyperbolic heat conduction, effective temperature, and third law for nonequilibrium systems with heat flux.

Some analogies between different nonequilibrium heat conduction models, particularly random walk, the discrete variable model, and the Boltzmann transport equation with the single relaxation time approximation, have been discussed. We show that, under an assumption of a finite value of the heat carrier velocity, these models lead to the hyperbolic heat conduction equation and the modified Fourier law with relaxation term. Corresponding effective temperature and entropy have been introduced and analyzed.

Kinetic Phase Diagrams of Ternary Al-Cu-Li System during Rapid Solidification: A Phase-Field Study.

Kinetic phase diagrams in technical alloys at different solidification velocities during rapid solidification are of great importance for guiding the novel alloy preparation, but are usually absent due to extreme difficulty in performing experimental measurements. In this paper, a phase-field model with finite interface dissipation was employed to construct kinetic phase diagrams in the ternary Al-Cu-Li system for the first time. The time-elimination relaxation scheme was utilized.

Evaluation of Docking Target Functions by the Comprehensive Investigation of Protein-Ligand Energy Minima.

The adequate choice of the docking target function impacts the accuracy of the ligand positioning as well as the accuracy of the protein-ligand binding energy calculation. To evaluate a docking target function we compared positions of its minima with the experimentally known pose of the ligand in the protein active site. We evaluated five docking target functions based on either the MMFF94 force field or the PM7 quantum-chemical method with or without implicit solvent models: PCM, COSMO, and SGB.

Plate tectonics on the Earth triggered by plume-induced subduction initiation.

Scientific theories of how subduction and plate tectonics began on Earth--and what the tectonic structure of Earth was before this--remain enigmatic and contentious. Understanding viable scenarios for the onset of subduction and plate tectonics is hampered by the fact that subduction initiation processes must have been markedly different before the onset of global plate tectonics because most present-day subduction initiation mechanisms require acting plate forces and existing zones of lithospheric weakness, which are both consequences of plate tectonics. However, plume-induced subduction initiation could have started the first subduction zone without the help of plate tectonics.

Low-buoyancy thermochemical plumes resolve controversy of classical mantle plume concept.

The Earth's biggest magmatic events are believed to originate from massive melting when hot mantle plumes rising from the lowermost mantle reach the base of the lithosphere. Classical models predict large plume heads that cause kilometre-scale surface uplift, and narrow (100 km radius) plume tails that remain in the mantle after the plume head spreads below the lithosphere. However, in many cases, such uplifts and narrow plume tails are not observed.

Rift migration explains continental margin asymmetry and crustal hyper-extension.

When continents break apart, continental crust and lithosphere are thinned until break-up is achieved and an oceanic basin is formed. The most remarkable and least understood structures associated with this process are up to 200 km wide areas of hyper-extended continental crust, which are partitioned between conjugate margins with pronounced asymmetry. Here we show, using high-resolution thermo-mechanical modelling, that hyper-extended crust and margin asymmetry are produced by steady state rift migration.

[Lactobacillus plantarum and phosprenyl competitively distinguish ovalbumin oligomannoside n-glycan].

Aim: Demonstration of the ability of native products of lactobacteria to bind mannose containing N-glycans as a display of one of the mechanisms of probiotic behavior of these symbiont microorganism in gastrointestinal tract (GIT).

Materials And Methods: Lactobacillus plantarum 30 grown on selective medium (MRS-agar) and their ultrasound lysates were used in the study. Standard technique of delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction was used with inactivated Listeria monocytogenes culture as a priming agent.

["Non-immune" interactions of gamma-globulin in regulation of immune reactions].

It was shown using the model of L2-dependent proliferation of T-cells that IL2 forms complexes with gamma-globulin inhibiting IL2 activity. In this interaction IL2 acts as lectin binding with two-antenna terminals of 5 or 6 mannose residues in one and the same region of immunoglobulin. Similar effect is observed in vivo in case of induction of DTH to listerial antigens.

[Morphogenesis of tick-borne encephalitis virus in the brain of mice infected with its persistent strains].

The brain cells of adult albino rats underwent electron microscopic study after intracerebral infection with tickborne encephalitis virus (TBEV) strains isolated after long persistence in monkeys, Syrian hamsters, and a patient with chronic tick-borne encephalitis. The TBEV morphogenesis scheme was shown to be fundamentally similar for both high-virulent and long persistent TBEV strains. Data on the budding of newly forming particles on the degranulated membranes of the irregular endoplasmic network are presented.

[Prion diseases at the present stage and the investigations conducted at the M. P. Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences].

The review deals with the basic characteristics of prion diseases of man and animals. It details the studies of some little known aspects of the pathogenesis of prion diseases and their lifetime diagnosis, conducted at the M. P.

An olivine-free mantle source of Hawaiian shield basalts.

More than 50 per cent of the Earth's upper mantle consists of olivine and it is generally thought that mantle-derived melts are generated in equilibrium with this mineral. Here, however, we show that the unusually high nickel and silicon contents of most parental Hawaiian magmas are inconsistent with a deep olivine-bearing source, because this mineral together with pyroxene buffers both nickel and silicon at lower levels. This can be resolved if the olivine of the mantle peridotite is consumed by reaction with melts derived from recycled oceanic crust, to form a secondary pyroxenitic source.

Functional and Serological Evidences of the Non-Immune Interaction of Interleukin-2 and Immunoglobulin G.

The mechanism of non-immune inhibition of biological activity of IL-2 by IgG or its immune complexes was studied using serological analysis on the model of IL-2-dependent proliferation of Con A-induced blast cells obtained from a mouse spleen. The mechanism investigated is realized through formation of a complex between IL-2 and an effector part of IgG molecule. It is suggested that this mechanism can participate in immune regulation, formation of individual and population resistance to infections, and pathogenesis of infectious and non-infectious diseases with antigen persistence.

Seismic images of crust and upper mantle beneath Tibet: evidence for Eurasian plate subduction.

Seismic data from central Tibet have been combined to image the subsurface structure and understand the evolution of the collision of India and Eurasia. The 410- and 660-kilometer mantle discontinuities are sharply defined, implying a lack of a subducting slab beneath the plateau. The discontinuities appear slightly deeper beneath northern Tibet, implying that the average temperature of the mantle above the transition zone is about 300 degrees C hotter in the north than in the south.

[Pathology of the brain in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease].

The autopsy cases of Creitsfeldt-Jacob disease (a sporadic form) are reported which were diagnosed clinically and supported by the data of biopsy and autopsy of the brain (classic triad: death of neurons, astrogliosis and spongiform degeneration of the gray substance of the cortex of brain hemispheres, preferentially), followed by clinical morphologic comparisons. The focal character of the disease was observed on the early stages of the disease, while diffuse alterations were found on the late stages.

Mapping the Hawaiian plume conduit with converted seismic waves.

The volcanic edifice of the Hawaiian islands and seamounts, as well as the surrounding area of shallow sea floor known as the Hawaiian swell, are believed to result from the passage of the oceanic lithosphere over a mantle hotspot. Although geochemical and gravity observations indicate the existence of a mantle thermal plume beneath Hawaii, no direct seismic evidence for such a plume in the upper mantle has yet been found. Here we present an analysis of compressional-to-shear (P-to-S) converted seismic phases, recorded on seismograph stations on the Hawaiian islands, that indicate a zone of very low shear-wave velocity (< 4 km s(-1)) starting at 130-140 km depth beneath the central part of the island of Hawaii and extending deeper into the upper mantle.