The State of Benthic Communities and Water Quality Evaluation in the Cheboksary Reservoir

Present-day quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the Cheboksary Reservoir have been investigated, and data on the biological diversity of benthic organisms have been compared to those of hydrobiological studies carried out in the region prior to the reservoir construction. The reservoir bottom communities include 75 species and forms of benthos. The reservoir water quality has been evaluated using different methods, including the determination of the degree of morphological structure abnormalities in chironomid larvae, regarded as sublethal indicators of bottom sediment pollution with toxic substances.     

Microstrip antenna array for the onboard radio system of small spacecraft

The article presents the results of the development of a directional microstrip antenna array with small mass-dimensional characteristics as a directional antenna of the transmitting channel of a small spacecraft.     

Measurement of air-fluorescence-light yield induced by an electromagnetic shower

For most of the ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) experiments and projects (HiRes, AUGER, TA, JEM-EUSO, TUS, …), the detection technique of extensive air showers is based, at least, on the measurement of the air-fluorescence-induced signal. The knowledge of the fluorescence-light yield (FLY) is of paramount importance for the UHECR energy reconstruction. The MACFLY experiment was designed to perform absolute measurements of the air FLY and to study its properties. Here, we report the result of measurement of dry-air FLY induced by 50 GeV electromagnetic showers as a function of the shower age and as a function of the pressure. The experiment was performed at CERN using a SPS-electron-test-beam line. The result shows the air FLY is proportional to the energy deposited in air (E_d). The ratio FLY/E_d and its pressure dependence remain constant independently of shower age, and more generally, independently of the excitation source used (single-electron track or air shower).