Discovery Dates Research Articles

Supernova rates and luminosity functions from ASAS-SN I: 2014–2017 Type Ia SNe and their subtypes

ABSTRACT We present the volumetric rates and luminosity functions (LFs) of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from the V-band All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) catalogues spanning discovery dates from UTC 2014 January 26 to UTC 2017 December 29. Our standard sample consists of 404 SNe Ia with $m_{\mathrm{{\it V},peak}} \lt 17\, \mathrm{mag}$ and Galactic latitude |b| > 15°. Our results are both statistically more precise and systematically more robust than previous studies due to the large sample size and high spectroscopic completeness. We make completeness corrections based on both the apparent and absolute magnitudes by simulating the detection of SNe Ia in ASAS-SN light curves. We find a total volumetric rate for all subtypes of $R_{\mathrm{tot}} = 2.28^{+0.20}_{-0.20} \times 10^{4}\, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}\, \mathrm{Gpc}^{-3}\, h^{3}_{70}$ for $M_{\mathrm{{\it V},peak}} \lt -16.5\, \mathrm{mag}$ ($R_{\mathrm{tot}} = 1.91^{+0.12}_{-0.12} \times 10^{4}\, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}\, \mathrm{Gpc}^{-3}\, h^{3}_{70}$ for $M_{\mathrm{{\it V},peak}} \lt -17.5\, \mathrm{mag}$) at the median redshift of our sample, zmed = 0.024. This is in agreement (1σ) with the local volumetric rates found by previous studies. We also compile LFs for the entire sample as well as for subtypes of SNe Ia for the first time. The major subtypes with more than one SN include Ia-91bg, Ia-91T, Ia-CSM, and Ia-03fg with total rates of $R_{\mathrm{Ia-91bg}} = 1.4^{+0.5}_{-0.5} \times 10^{3}\, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}\, \mathrm{Gpc}^{-3}\, h^{3}_{70}$, $R_{\mathrm{Ia-91T}} = 8.5^{+1.6}_{-1.7} \times 10^{2}\, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}\, \mathrm{Gpc}^{-3}\, h^{3}_{70}$, $R_{\mathrm{Ia-CSM}} = 10^{+7}_{-7}\, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}\, \mathrm{Gpc}^{-3}\, h^{3}_{70}$, and $R_{\mathrm{Ia-03fg}} = 30^{+20}_{-20}\, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}\, \mathrm{Gpc}^{-3}\, h^{3}_{70}$, respectively. We estimate a mean host extinction of $E(V-r) \approx 0.2\, \mathrm{mag}$ based on the shift between our V band and the Zwicky Transient Facility r-band LFs.

The Ramifications in Implementing the U.S.-Style Discovery System To Enhance Evidence-Gathering in Korea

The Korean judiciary has been subject to heavy criticism due to the insufficiency of fact-findings at trial. Such lack of fact-findings has been attributed to several factors. First, there is no strong mechanism for evidence- gathering at trial proceedings which tend to bog down with a series of long and ineffective exchange of documents between the parties. Secondly, fact-findings are allowed at appellate courts in Korea so that litigants expect to continue fact-gathering at appellate level, without committing to the complete fact-finding at trial courts. There has been significant debate surrounding the necessity of addressing the issues pertaining to the trial procedures in Korea—especially on the fact-gathering system. As one of the most effective ways to do so, the U.S.-style discovery system has been considered. There are particular features of the U.S. discovery system that the Korean judiciary and the bar have shown a strong inclination towards adopting: party-initiated evidence gathering; prescheduled discovery and trial dates; and mandatory initial disclosures.
 However, in order to successfully adopt the U.S.-style discovery system, gaining an understanding of the drawbacks of the U.S. discovery is imperative —adversarial and competitive lawyering in discovery; insufficient judicial roles; problems of mandatory initial disclosure and notice-pleading; and abusive use of discovery. In addition to the analysis of the above problems, this article also discusses the lessons that the Korean judiciary and bar should learn from the American experience before adopting the discovery system. Lastly, it makes several proposals for the Korean judicial reform that can contribute to the successful implementation of the new discovery system.

Precise Distance Measurement for a Near-Earth Asteroid by the Refined Rotational Reflex Velocity Method

The rotational reflex velocity (RRV) method was proposed by Heinze and Metchev in 2015 and was used to measure the distances of main-belt asteroids (MBAs). Later, Lin et al. generalized this method using spherical astronomy in 2016. The method measures the distances of MBAs using the observations from a single ground-based telescope over two nights. We refined this method and extend it further to the distance measurement of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). In practice, we measure the distance of the potentially hazardous asteroid (99942) Apophis from the acquired CCD frames using the newly refined method. According to the requirement of the newly refined method, we also simulate the distance measurements of the four typical NEAs, (1221) Amor, (1862) Apollo, (2062) Aten, and (163693) Atira, on their discovery dates and follow-up dates. The measurement results of Apophis based on the newly refined RRV method show that the mean relative errors for the independent exposure frames on the successive two nights is ∼0.08% (about a factor of 2 improvement in comparison with the research of Lin et al.) compared with the distance from JPL ephemeris. Our simulation results also show that this refined method can accurately and precisely measure the distances of newly discovered NEAs in an astrometric way without performing orbital determination. The accurate and precise distances of newly discovered asteroids help us to conveniently evaluate their impact risks within a shorter time, leaving us more time to take defense precautions.

Human interferon status. Standardization of the tests and establishing reference values

Background. Interferons are the most important component of nonspecific (congenital) resistance of the body, the history of their discovery dates back to 1957 and the study is still ongoing. Evaluation of an individual interferon status (IS) with the estimation of the sensitivity of leukocytes to immune reactive drugs has a practical aspect. IS is a set of parameters indicating the state of nonspecific resistance.Aim. To study the problems of standardizing the IS tests with the search for possible ways of standardizing the method and calculate reference values based on a large amount of data.Materials and methods. A retrospective statistical processing was performed using the database of the IS tests performed in the clinical diagnostic department of the laboratory center of Exacte Labs LLC from September 2020 to August 2022. Enzyme immunoassay kits based on commercial reagents were used. The paper describes the methodology for studying IS with an emphasis on the least standardized procedures.Results. Reference values were calculated using three indirect methods. The analysis of the results obtained made it possible to identify age groups for which it is advisable to establish reference values. The study results showed the inconsistency of the obtained reference values as compared with the previous ones, which indicates the need for their correction.Conclusion. The considered problems of performing and standardizing the method for IS analysis are of practical importance for establishing a standard methodology and an in vitro method. The reference values have been updated to avoid errors in the interpretation of the results and to increase the clinical significance of the study.

QUALITY EXPECTATIONS IN SHOES: A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Purpose- In addition to the product development of shoes, which is an integral element of people's lives and whose discovery dates back many years, the quality growth in people's thinking continues. Although quality dimensions differ between persons and product kinds, a significant number of samples may be used to assess quality perception in shoes. The purpose of this study is to determine how individuals perceive quality in shoes. Methodology- During the face-to-face survey, participants were asked why they thought the shoes they discovered were of excellent quality or low quality. In the MAXQDA 2022 program, 135 individuals were interviewed and their data was examined. Findings- As a consequence of the research, 14 key characteristics of shoe quality were identified. Durability, convenience, perceived quality, beauty, dependability, health, price, diversity, materials, services, cleanliness, accessibility, and environmentalism are the dimensions listed in order of their frequency of mention. When looking at the word cloud, words like comfortable, durable, helpful, appropriate, and model appear often. Nike, Adidas, and Kinetix are three brands that have excellent quality perceptions among consumers in terms of product quality. Because the majority of reviews for Nike and Adidas are favorable, it is clear that people have high expectations for these companies. Conclusion- As a result, when individuals' perceptions of shoe quality are analyzed, it has been discovered that durability, appropriateness, perceived quality, and aesthetics are the most essential criteria. Individuals' perceptions of shoe quality have been shown to be represented by the phrases comfortable, durable, useful, appropriate, and model, respectively. When it comes to brands, Nike and Adidas have been shown to have a good quality perception. Finally, it was discovered in the connected study that for a shoe to be of excellent quality, it must be long-lasting, comfortable, and have a strong brand image and product design. Keywords: Footwear, quality, product quality, quality perception, quality dimensions. JEL Codes: M00, M11, M31

Mammal virus diversity estimates are unstable due to accelerating discovery effort.

Host-virus association data underpin research into the distribution and eco-evolutionary correlates of viral diversity and zoonotic risk across host species. However, current knowledge of the wildlife virome is inherently constrained by historical discovery effort, and there are concerns that the reliability of ecological inference from host-virus data may be undermined by taxonomic and geographical sampling biases. Here, we evaluate whether current estimates of host-level viral diversity in wild mammals are stable enough to be considered biologically meaningful, by analysing a comprehensive dataset of discovery dates of 6571 unique mammal host-virus associations between 1930 and 2018. We show that virus discovery rates in mammal hosts are either constant or accelerating, with little evidence of declines towards viral richness asymptotes, even in highly sampled hosts. Consequently, inference of relative viral richness across host species has been unstable over time, particularly in bats, where intensified surveillance since the early 2000s caused a rapid rearrangement of species' ranked viral richness. Our results illustrate that comparative inference of host-level virus diversity across mammals is highly sensitive to even short-term changes in sampling effort. We advise caution to avoid overinterpreting patterns in current data, since it is feasible that an analysis conducted today could draw quite different conclusions than one conducted only a decade ago.

Mineral deposit discovery order and three-part quantitative assessments

Larger oil pools tending to be discovered earlier in an exploration play suggests the same pattern might exist for mineral deposits and could be used in predicting sizes of undiscovered deposits in mineral assessments. The volume of individual petroleum pools is highly correlated with surface projection area of pools in basins. The gradual additions to individual oil pool reserves over time adds to the appearance of larger pools being discovered earlier.Comparisons of surface projected areas of mineral deposits to their tonnages showed significant positive relationships in all 10 deposit types analyzed, suggesting that larger deposits should be discovered earlier than small deposits.Analysis of deposits consistent with three-part mineral assessments identified 9 combinations of mineral deposit types in large regions each containing multiple geological permissive tracts showing negative and 1 positive relationships of deposit size with discovery date significant at the 1% level. Twenty other tests of regions containing multiple permissive settings had either negative or positive relationships, none significantly different from those that might occur by chance. The large regions are mostly based on political boundaries. These results suggest mineral deposit discovery order is not the same as observed in oil pool exploration.The widely employed three-part quantitative mineral resource assessments are an obvious choice to benefit from patterns of declining deposit sizes with order of discovery. The 30 tests of relationships of discovery dates to deposit sizes demonstrated here were performed with deposits consistent with those in three-part assessments, but the large areas are not consistent with permissive tracts used in these assessments because they also contain substantial non-permissive geology.In 100 permissive tracts assessed with three-part assessments of multiple deposit types located throughout the world, the median number of known well-explored deposits is 1 and 90 percent of tracts report less than 9 deposits. The number of well-explored deposits in three-part assessed tracts tends to be quite small, limiting any ability to recognize a discovery order versus size relationship.In a three-part assessment of undiscovered porphyry copper deposits of South America, only 7 of 26 delineated tracts contained more than 2 known deposits and only 1 had a significant negative relationship between tonnage of known deposits and year of discovery (p = 0.04). Most predicted undiscovered deposits in this tract were expected to be under extensive unexplored post-mineralization cover, meaning the general grade and tonnage model should be applied because the discovery order process starts over. Projection of deposit sizes based on discovery order would provide a biased estimate of the undiscovered deposit sizes in this case. Thus, although a discovery order versus size relationship could exist in three-part mineral assessments, only rarely might the pattern be useful to predict sizes of undiscovered deposits.

Postcranial osteology of the basally branching hadrosauroid dinosaur Tanius sinensis from the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi Group of Shandong, China

ABSTRACT Tanius sinensis was one of the first dinosaur species to be named from China. It was established on a partial skeleton recovered by a joint Sino-Swedish expedition in 1923. The fossils were excavated from Upper Cretaceous strata of the Jiangjunding Formation (Wangshi Group) in Shandong Province, and although their discovery dates back almost 100 years, they have not been reassessed in detail since their initial description in 1929. This omission is critical because T. sinensis is now recognized as one of the stratigraphically youngest non-hadrosaurid hadrosauroid taxa. Here, we re-evaluate the postcranial osteology of T. sinensis as a prelude to an anatomical and phylogenetic revision of the species. We examined the holotype and all currently referred specimens of T. sinensis first-hand, and identified a unique postcranial character state combination incorporating tall dorsal neural spines, a reduced postacetabular ridge on the ilium, a fully enclosed flexor tunnel formed by the distal condyles of the femur, and a lunate proximal end on metatarsal III. Comparisons with other species of Tanius confirm that: (1) T. chingkankouensis is a nomen dubium erected on non-diagnostic composite material; (2) T. laiyangensis was established on indeterminate hadrosaurid remains that are not attributable to Tanius; and (3) the anecdotal assignments of Bactrosaurus prynadai and Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus to Tanius cannot be substantiated. Close inspection of the holotype caudal vertebra further reveals a possible healed bite trace consistent with a prey–predator interaction. Lastly, our calculated average body mass estimate for T. sinensis of between 2091–3533 kg suggests that it was one of the largest non-hadrosaurid hadrosauroids.

What’s new in ceramics sintering? A short report on the latest trends and future prospects

Despite sintering has a history even longer than human civilization (its discovery dates back at least to 25,000 years ago), in the past decade, new exciting challenges have emerged in the field: reduction of environmental impact, densification of metastable phases, complete consolidation of ultra-refractory compounds, precise microstructural design to control properties of functional ceramics and integration between inorganic-organic compounds. In order to meet such challenges, new sintering routes employing electric fields/currents, water/solvents and external loads have been developed. The research also opened new questions about unexpected (and still not completely understood) interactions between electricity, presence of water/liquid, heating and diffusion processes.In this manuscript, we have rationalized the last-ten-years research in the field of sintering for the consolidation of ceramics. The processes are collected into three main groups: flash-like (sintering under relatively large electric fields and the material is internally heated by the Joule effect), spark plasma sintering-like (combination of pressure and limited electric field) and hydro-consolidation (sintering at temperature below ≈ 350 °C in the presence of a liquid under an applied pressure). This paper aims to point out common features and differences among different techniques. Finally, future research trends and new paradigm in material processing are anticipated.

Coronavirus discovery by metagenomic sequencing: a tool for pandemic preparedness.

IntroductionThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic of 2020 is a prime example of the omnipresent threat of emerging viruses that can infect humans. A protocol for the identification of novel coronaviruses by viral metagenomic sequencing in diagnostic laboratories may contribute to pandemic preparedness.AimThe aim of this study is to validate a metagenomic virus discovery protocol as a tool for coronavirus pandemic preparedness.MethodsThe performance of a viral metagenomic protocol in a clinical setting for the identification of novel coronaviruses was tested using clinical samples containing SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV, in combination with databases generated to contain only viruses of before the discovery dates of these coronaviruses, to mimic virus discovery.ResultsClassification of NGS reads using Centrifuge and Genome Detective resulted in assignment of the reads to the closest relatives of the emerging coronaviruses. Low nucleotide and amino acid identity (81% and 84%, respectively, for SARS-CoV-2) in combination with up to 98% genome coverage were indicative for a related, novel coronavirus. Capture probes targeting vertebrate viruses, designed in 2015, enhanced both sequencing depth and coverage of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, the latter increasing from 71% to 98%.ConclusionThe model used for simulation of virus discovery enabled validation of the metagenomic sequencing protocol. The metagenomic protocol with virus probes designed before the pandemic, can assist the detection and identification of novel coronaviruses directly in clinical samples.

Use of Stirling Engine for Waste Heat Recovery

Even though this discovery dates back to 1816, the greatest advancement in technology and understanding of Stirling-cycle devices has occurred in the last 50 years. Although their mass production is currently limited to special-purpose machines, its prospective use is in combination with renewable sources and indicates a potential for commercial purposes. The lack of commercial success, despite obvious advantages, is probably due to a lack of appropriate modeling techniques and theoretical predictions of what these devices can achieve. Nowadays the Stirling engine has found its use mainly in solar power plants, where it represents the only piston engine converting solar energy into mechanical and then electricity with relatively high efficiency. The Stirling engine also appears to be suitable for recovering waste heat, especially in heavy industry. The numerical model was adapted for the existing Cleanergy Stirling engine, to evaluate the possibilities of this one engine for waste heat recovery. This paper also deals with application options and individual parameters that affect the efficiency of this Stirling engine for waste heat recovery. The analysis showed that this kind of engine is capable of recovering and utilizing heat above 300 °C, which determines its possible use with solar energy.

Atık Camların Kalıpla Şekillendirme Tekniğinde Kullanımı

Glass has been used by humanity for thousands of years in a wide range of applications due to its chemical, thermal, mechanical, optical, and aesthetic properties. It has been the building block of many objects, both artistic and industrial, for centuries. Glass, whose discovery dates back to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamian civilizations, is formed by melting raw materials obtained from nature at high temperature and turning them into products. It goes through a rather difficult production stage. Today, glass is a very common material and has been one of the main materials recycled. In parallel with increasing human population, the number of studies on recycling has increased considerably in order to balance consumption needs. One of the biggest problems of industrialized countries is the deterioration of the natural balance due to increasing resource consumption. Soil, air, and water pollution caused by consumption of raw materials are primary environmental problems. Recycling of solid waste supports a country’s economy and helps reduce environmental pollution. In addition, raw material is saved. Within the scope of this study, the factory and packaging waste of glass recycled many times was used in mold forming techniques that produced original designs.

Dopaminergic and Adrenergic Pathways as Targets for Drug Repurposing in the Neuroimmune Network.

Dopamine, noradrenaline and adrenaline are catecholamines, and are all produced along the same metabolic pathway. Their discovery dates back to the early 1900s, and they were appreciated until the second half of the century mainly for their role in the brain and in the regulation of autonomic functions. Nonetheless, in the 1970s characterization of the key role of sympathoadrenergic nerve fibers in the cross-talk between the brain and the immune system paved the way to the raise of modern neuroimmunology, and understanding the immune effects of dopamine occurred in the subsequent decades. Both adrenergic and dopaminergic transmission offer a possibly unparalleled wealth of therapeutic targets, and most of them have been already successfully exploited for cardiovascular, respiratory, neurologic and even psychiatric diseases, however so far the therapeutic potential of adrenergic and dopaminergic agents in the neuroimmune network remains relatively unexploited. This special issue provides a unique collection of expert contributions from some of the most prominent researchers currently studying dopaminergic and adrenergic agents in major diseases like cancer, autoimmunity, neurodegeneration, and even in emerging areas like hematology and metabolism. It is strongly hoped that thesereviews will be not only helpful for researchers already working on topics related to the neuroimmune pharmacology of catecholamines, but will also attract novel researchers as much work is still needed to fully exploit the therapeutic potential of dopaminergic and adrenergic drugs for the benefit of patients.

Revitalizing exploration and redevelopment of deep carbonate targets in the Southern Apennines thrust belt (southern Italy): reappraising vintage data with modern approaches

Abstract Hydrocarbon distribution in the Southern Apennines thrust belt of Italy is directly related to the geological characteristics and complex evolution of the thrust tectonic pile involving units from different palaeogeographical domains. Within this structural–stratigraphic context, the main exploration target is represented by the carbonate units of the Apulian Platform, which contain the largest and deepest oilfields in the region. By integrating different types (e.g. wells, seismic, maps, reports) of legacy public and confidential data of various vintages, the subsurface structural setting of the contractional Apulian structures around the Benevento Field in the Southern Apennines hydrocarbon province is reconstructed. The discovery dates back to the early 1970s. The reservoir consists of Cretaceous–Lower Miocene carbonates at a depth of around 3000 m below sea level bearing both oil and gas. A new digital interpretation and integration, which takes into account the most recent understanding of the evolution of this thrust belt, has allowed reconstruction of the trap style of the Benevento Field and of the prospective (undrilled) structures in the surrounding area. A history of positive inversion tectonics is interpreted from a 2D kinematic restoration; this has important implications for both the structural style and the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Southern Apennines thrust belt.

The Last Glacial Maximum Balearic Abyssal Plain megabed revisited

Abstract Megabeds are thick sedimentary layers extending over thousands of square kilometres in deep-sea basins and are thought to result from large slope failures triggered by major external events. Such deposits have been found in at least three areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Although their discovery dates back to the early 1980s, many questions remain concerning their initiation, source area, extent and the nature of their emplacement. One of the largest previously documented megabeds was emplaced during the Last Glacial Maximum across the Balearic Abyssal Plain, with a thickness of 8–10 m in water depths of up to 2800 m. New 3.5 kHz sub-bottom profiles and sediment cores provide greater constraints on the lateral variability of the megabed and allow it to be mapped beyond previous estimates, with a revised areal extent of 90 000–100 000 km 2 . The megabed terminations show a gradual pinchout to the west and an abrupt eastward termination against the steep Sardinia margin. The megabed presents, in seismic profiles and sediment cores, a tripartite subdivision, which most likely corresponds to the changes in flow regimes across the basin, with a central area of sandy facies and an erosional base oriented NNE–SSW; this allows renewed discussions about the sources and triggers of the megabed.

The Influence of Solar Activity on Discoveries of Comets from Different Classes

Abstract—The paper deals with the distribution of discovery dates of comets through phases of the 11‑year cycle of solar activity (SA). Four groups of comets are considered: long-period comets (LPCs) with an orbital period exceeding 200 yr, periodic comets (PCs) of Jupiter’s family, LPCs with a weak absolute brightness, and a group of LPC with perihelia near the plane perpendicular to the ecliptic. The analysis covers the comets found before the beginning of cycle 24. The earlier conclusion on the difference between PCs and LPCs has been confirmed. It has been determined that a single maximum in the PCs distribution corresponds to the postmaximum epoch of SA. In the weak LPCs, this maximum is absent. The distribution of the isolated group of LPCs with respect to SA is also different. In all of the cases, the decay period of cycles dominates the discoveries of comets.

Gold Mining and Education: A Long-run Resource Curse in Africa?

Combining Afrobarometer survey data with geocoded data on the discovery and shutdown dates of gold mines, we show that individuals who had gold mines within their district when they were in adolescence have significantly lower educational attainment as adults. Exploring mechanisms, we find that this effect is not driven by endogenous migration, nor a higher incidence of conflicts, nor by a lower provision of schools in mining districts. While data limitations prevent us from fully exploring other channels, prior work as well as suggestive evidence point towards a higher incidence of child labour in mining district as the main mechanism.

Resource of Paleolithic artefacts of Lower Dnieper

This paper describers the state of archaeological resource of Paleolithic artefacts in the territory of the Lower Dnieper. The places, discovery dates, the names of the researchers conducted excavations are presented. According to the aim of the issue, the general description of the history of Palaeothic artefacts of Lower Dniper is presented. The analysis of the representational historiographic base of the issue gave an opportunity to discover the first scaled study provided by Gornostaevskaya archeological expedition in the region in 1950-s which was connected with Kachovskyi’s reservoir building. The later studies were performed by Kherson’s expedition affiliated to the Institute of Archeology of Ukrainian Academy of Science. During the years of independence some restudies were provided by the enthusiastic scientists, M.P. Olenkovsky’s work could be distinguished among them. Approximately thirty and a half stations of Paleolithic Age were found in the region. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the stations were destroyed. The oldest discoveries are presented by the two stations of the Middle Paleolithic Age: the first is situated between the villages of Balky and Blagovishchenko; the second is Rock Orel near Maychka village. The author determines the problems which the Ukrainian researchers face: 1) the vast majority of the stations are destroyed by the waters of Kachovka’s reservoir or the soil reclamation works; 2) the problem of artefacts’ final dating; 3) the lack of finance of the scientific institutions which has a negative influence on the further studies.

Guidelines for the Preanalytical Conditions for Analyzing Circulating Cell-Free DNA.

Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) isolated from blood has been identified as a potential biomarker in numerous fields, and has been the object of intensive research over the past decade, although its original discovery dates back 60 years. While it is already used routinely in commercial and clinical practice in oncology and prenatal testing, other potential applications have emerged, including for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, organ transplantation, autoimmune diseases, sepsis, trauma, and sport management. As with the discovery and development of any biomarker, preanalytical requirements and documentation are as important as analytical requirements. Except for the case of noninvasive prenatal testing and prenatal diagnosis, the implementation of cfDNA in a clinical setting remains limited because of the lack of standardization of cfDNA analysis. In particular, only a few attempts have been made to collect and pool scientific data on the relevant preanalytical factors, and no standard operating procedure has yet been set. For this report, we have performed a thorough and systematic search via MEDLINE® for relevant preanalytical variables and patient factors. These form the basis of the guidelines we propose for analyzing nuclear cfDNA.

The study of halophytic vegetation of the Penza Region and its protection

15 sites with saline soils have been identified and described in the Penza Region. Only 2 of them have a status of a nature sanctuary. They are the Solontsovaya Steppe in the Luninsky District and the Danilovskaya Solontsovaya Polyana in the Maloserdobinsky District. The other 13 sites are proposed to be included in the existing system of specially protected natural territories of the Penza Region as nature sanctuaries. They are Zhmakinsky Solonetz, Kaysarovsky Solonetz (Kolyshley District); Litvinovsky Solonetz (Lopatinsky District); Chunak Solontsovaya Glade, Korzovaya Hollow (Maloserdobinsky District); Kellerovsky Solonetz, Mansurovsky Solonetz, Karnovarsky Solonetz (Neverkinsky District); Olshansky Solonetz, Andreevsky Solonetz, Vasilyevsky Solonetz (Penza District); Serdobsky Solonetz, Krasny Solonetz (Serdobsky District). We provide the following data for each site. This is the history of discovery (dates, researches), location, belonging to the basins of large rivers, approximate area, information about economic use in the past and the degree of anthropogenic disturbances, the characteristics of the relief and soil. The main attention is paid to the description of the nature of the distribution of halophilic vegetation, depending on the degree of salinity and soil moisture. Data on the steppes vegetation, meadows and swamps found in the described sites are also given. Dominant and rare species of vascular plants (in The Red Book of the Penza Region) are listed.