Urban management: Addressing the housing and utility challenge

The authors have studied the three aspects of urban management: apartment buildings, major repair management, requirements for facility management companies to be licensed and waste management. The paper presents all the mentioned above aspects and possible negative circumstances and proposes solutions to the problems

Urban management: Addressing the housing and utility challenge

The authors have studied the three aspects of urban management: apartment buildings, major repair management, requirements for facility management companies to be licensed and waste management. The paper presents all the mentioned above aspects and possible negative circumstances and proposes solutions to the problems

Urban management: Addressing the housing and utility challenge

The authors have studied the three aspects of urban management: apartment buildings, major repair management, requirements for facility management companies to be licensed and waste management. The paper presents all the mentioned above aspects and possible negative circumstances and proposes solutions to the problems

Prospects for the socio-economic development of a small urban settlement

The article is devoted to the design idea the concept of the universal project of socio-economic development of small urban settlement on the example of single-industry towns of the South of Russia, and highlighted relevant data problems of urban agglomerations, the ways of contributing to the solution, as the demographic situation and migration of the working population, creation of new jobs through attracting investors and foreign workers to solve problems such areas having a similar nature and roots throughout the territory of the Russian Federation. The work is a strategic vector of the concept for the socio-economic development of economically unprofitable territories of the Russian Federation based on the use of the TRIZ system operator. The concept of the project allows us to demonstrate the way of possible transformation of the economy of economically unprofitable regions. The paper formulates the goal of socio-economic development for a small urban settlement, forms the ways of strategic transformation, analyzes the current situation, identifies the main problems and suggests a possible vector for the development of the territory based on the development of production, infrastructure, the quality of the urban environment and the use of the climatic and cultural features of the region

Synthesis of new representatives of A3B-type carboranylporphyrins based on meso-tetra(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin transformations

A carboranylporphyrin of A3B-type bearing a single pentafluorophenyl ring was prepared through the regioselective nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction of the p-fluorine atoms in 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin with 9-mercapto-m-carborane. The reaction of this porphyrin with sodium azide led to the selective substitution of the p-fluorine atom in the pentafluorophenyl substituent with an azide functionality which upon reduction with SnCl2 resulted in the formation of the corresponding porphyrin with an amino group. Pentafluorophenyl-substituted A3B-porphyrins were studied and transformed to thiol and amino-substituted compounds allowing for the preparation of porphyrins with different reactive groups such as hydroxy and amino derivatives capable for further functionalization and conjugation of these porphyrins to other substrates. In addition, conjugates containing maleimide or biotin entities in the structure of carborane A3B-porphyrin were also synthesized based on the amino-substituted A3B-porphyrin. The structures of the prepared carboranylporphyrins were determined by UV–vis, IR, 1H, 19F, 11B NMR spectroscopic data and MALDI mass spectrometry

Organizing high school students’ independent learning using information and communication technologies

The ultimate goal of educational activity is the formation of a student as a full-fledged subject of the educational process. A prerequisite for this is achieving by students of such level of development, when they are able to independently determine the purpose and objectives of their training activities, update the necessary knowledge, plan their actions, adjust them in accordance with the goal without the help of the teacher. Today it becomes obvious that one of the basic requirements of the society for the school of the 21st century is the formation of a personality that is capable of solving social, industrial and scientific problems, as well as being able to think critically, develop and defend one's position, one's convictions, and at the same time this person must systematically and constantly replenish and update their knowledge through self-education, improve their skills and use them creatively in their practical work. The authors of the article consider independent learning as a specially organized training and creative activity of the teacher and student, aimed at self-organization, self-education and self-control. Attention is focused on the search for new approaches to the organization of independent educational and cognitive activities that can expand the scope of traditional teaching and learning. In the authors' opinion, information and communication technology plays an important role today in activating independent learning and systematization of the students’ knowledge, information technology makes it possible to use both verbal teaching methods, search methods, and a creative activity based method including participation of both teacher and students

The Copper Reduction Potential Determines the Reductive Cytotoxicity: Relevance to the Design of Metal–Organic Antitumor Drugs

Copper–organic compounds have gained momentum as potent antitumor drug candidates largely due to their ability to generate an oxidative burst upon the transition of Cu2+ to Cu1+ triggered by the exogenous-reducing agents. We have reported the differential potencies of a series of Cu(II)–organic complexes that produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell death after incubation with N-acetylcysteine (NAC). To get insight into the structural prerequisites for optimization of the organic ligands, we herein investigated the electrochemical properties and the cytotoxicity of Cu(II) complexes with pyridylmethylenethiohydantoins, pyridylbenzothiazole, pyridylbenzimidazole, thiosemicarbazones and porphyrins. We demonstrate that the ability of the complexes to kill cells in combination with NAC is determined by the potential of the Cu+2 → Cu+1 redox transition rather than by the spatial structure of the organic ligand. For cell sensitization to the copper–organic complex, the electrochemical potential of the metal reduction should be lower than the oxidation potential of the reducing agent. Generally, the structural optimization of copper–organic complexes for combinations with the reducing agents should include uncharged organic ligands that carry hard electronegative inorganic moieties

Copper-Containing Nanoparticles and Organic Complexes: Metal Reduction Triggers Rapid Cell Death via Oxidative Burst

Copper-containing agents are promising antitumor pharmaceuticals due to the ability of the metal ion to react with biomolecules. In the current study, we demonstrate that inorganic Cu2+ in the form of oxide nanoparticles (NPs) or salts, as well as Cu ions in the context of organic complexes (oxidation states +1, +1.5 and +2), acquire significant cytotoxic potency (2–3 orders of magnitude determined by IC50 values) in combinations with N-acetylcysteine (NAC), cysteine, or ascorbate. In contrast, other divalent cations (Zn, Fe, Mo, and Co) evoked no cytotoxicity with these combinations. CuO NPs (0.1–1 µg/mL) together with 1 mM NAC triggered the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within 2–6 h concomitantly with perturbation of the plasma membrane and caspase-independent cell death. Furthermore, NAC potently sensitized HCT116 colon carcinoma cells to Cu–organic complexes in which the metal ion coordinated with 5-(2-pyridylmethylene)-2-methylthio-imidazol-4-one or was present in the coordination sphere of the porphyrin macrocycle. The sensitization effect was detectable in a panel of mammalian tumor cell lines including the sublines with the determinants of chemotherapeutic drug resistance. The components of the combination were non-toxic if added separately. Electrochemical studies revealed that Cu cations underwent a stepwise reduction in the presence of NAC or ascorbate. This mechanism explains differential efficacy of individual Cu–organic compounds in cell sensitization depending on the availability of Cu ions for reduction. In the presence of oxygen, Cu+1 complexes can generate a superoxide anion in a Fenton-like reaction Cu+1L + O2 → O2−. + Cu+2L, where L is the organic ligand. Studies on artificial lipid membranes showed that NAC interacted with negatively charged phospholipids, an effect that can facilitate the penetration of CuO NPs across the membranes. Thus, electrochemical modification of Cu ions and subsequent ROS generation, as well as direct interaction with membranes, represent the mechanisms of irreversible membrane damage and cell death in response to metal reduction in inorganic and organic Cu-containing compounds