This paper studied the effect of additives of 0.5–20 wt.% synthetic CaSiO₃ wollastonite on the thermodynamic, mechanical, and tribological characteristics and structure of polymer composite materials (PCM) based on ultra-high-molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). Using thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscope, and laser light diffraction methods, it was shown that autoclave synthesis in the multicomponent system CaSO₄·2H₂O–SiO₂·nH₂O–KOH–H₂O allows one to obtain neeindle-shaped nanosized CaSiO₃ particles. It was shown that synthetic wollastonite is an effective filler of UHMWPE, which can significantly increase the deformation-strength and tribological characteristics of PCM. The active participation of wollastonite in tribochemical reactions occurring during friction of PCM by infrared spectroscopy was detected: new peaks related to oxygen-containing functional groups (hydroxyl and carbonyl) appeared. The developed UHMWPE/CaSiO₃ materials have high wear resistance and can be used as triboengineering materials.

Nanocrystalline GaSb films were grown on Si(001) from the stoichiometric Ga–Sb mixture using solid-phase epitaxy at temperatures of 200–500 °C. Use of the solid-phase epitaxy method allowed the suppression of Ga surface diffusion and prevention of intense Sb desorption. At the annealing temperature of 300 °C, a 14-nm-thick GaSb film aggregates, while a 20-nm-thick GaSb film remains continuous with a roughness of 1.74 nm. A GaSb film with a thickness of 20 nm consists of crystalline grains with a size of 9–16 nm. They were compressed by ~2%. For some GaSb grains, new epitaxial relationships have been found: GaSb $\left(111\right)$ ||Si $\left(11\overline{1}\right)$ and GaSb $\left[11\overline{2}\right]$ ||Si $\left[1\overline{1}0\right]$ , GaSb $\left(113\right)$ ||Si $\left(11\overline{1}\right)$ and GaSb $\left[1\overline{1}0\right]$ ||Si $\left[1\overline{1}0\right]$ , and GaSb $\left(11\overline{1}\right)$ ||Si $\left(002\right)$ and GaSb $\left[1\overline{1}0\right]$ ||Si $\left[1\overline{1}0\right]$ .

The innovative LED light source (Sun Box) with irradiation spectrum close to the sun spectrum in the wavelength range 440-660 nm was used in experiment for study the influence of light intensity (75, 135, 230 and 382 μmol/s*m²) on the growth and development of plants. Standard fluorescent lighting was used as a control. The experiments were carried out on plantlets of Stevia rebaudiana and Solanum tuberosum, cvs. Snegir, Rozhdestvenskiy and Kamchatskii) in vitro. The illumination intensity of 75 and 230 μmol/s*m² promoted development of S. rebaudiana plantlets with optimal values of morphometric parameters and well developed roots, which is important for plantlet adaptation to soil conditions. For S. tuberosum plantlets (Snegir and Rozhdestvenskiy cultivars), radiation intensity of 135 μmol/s*m² was optimal for micropropagation. The illumination intensity of 230 μmol/s*m² led to a formation of plantlets with the largest total fresh mass among experimental groups. Sun Box light with intensity of 75 μmol/s*m² could be applicated for micropropagation of these cultivars: plantlets were the highest with the largest internodes number. Thus, the plant response to different light intensity was species-spesific, and – in case of potato plantlets – cultivar-spesific. The use of artificial light sources with distinct PPFD level could be preferable for S. tuberosum and S. rebaudiana plantlet micropropagation in vitro, as it could shorten the cultivation time, accelerate cultivation time, and reduce the cost of electricity.

The E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase HOS1 is an important integrator of temperature information and developmental processes. HOS1 is a negative regulator of plant cold tolerance, and silencing HOS1 leads to increased cold tolerance. In the present work, we studied ROS levels in hos1^Cas9 Arabidopsis thaliana plants, in which the HOS1 gene was silenced by disruption of the open reading frame via CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Confocal imaging of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) showed that the hos1 mutation moderately increased levels of ROS under both low and high light (HL) conditions, but wild-type (WT) and hos1^Cas9 plants exhibited similar ROS levels in the dark. Visualization of single cells did not reveal differences in the intracellular distribution of ROS between WT and hos1^Cas9 plants. The hos1^Cas9 plants contained a high basal level of ascorbic acid, maintained a normal balance between reduced and oxidized glutathione (GSH and GSSG), and generated a strong antioxidant defense response against paraquat under HL conditions. Under cold exposure, the hos1 mutation decreased the ROS level and substantially increased the expression of the ascorbate peroxidase genes Apx1 and Apx2. When plants were pre-exposed to cold and further exposed to HL, the expression of the NADPH oxidase genes RbohD and RbohF was increased in the hos1^Cas9 plants but not in WT plants. hos1-mediated changes in the level of ROS are cold-dependent and cold-independent, which implies different levels of regulation. Our data indicate that HOS1 is required to maintain ROS homeostasis not only under cold conditions, but also under conditions of both low and high light intensity. It is likely that HOS1 prevents the overinduction of defense mechanisms to balance growth.