Exploring the Potential of Web 2.0 Technologies for Teaching Second/Foreign Language Writing in Higher Education

The emergence and rapid evolution of Web 2.0 technologies have resulted in their ever-growing use in education. Their communicative, participatory and interactive features have been recognised as pedagogically useful for teaching second/foreign languages, writing in particular. This literaturebased study therefore explores plentiful and continually proliferating research on the potential of Web 2.0 technologies for teaching second/foreign language writing in higher education. To examine the potential of Web 2.0 technologies for teaching second/foreign language writing and answer the research question, 73 research articles were reviewed. Their data were analysed in terms of the effect technology made on students’ writing abilities, namely their linguistic and pragmatic competences. The findings generally confirm the effectiveness of Web 2.0 technologies to improve the quality of students’ writing and enhance their linguistic and pragmatic competences. Drawing on Web 2.0 affordances, teachers are able to create an authentic and interactive learning environment for students to practice and improve their writing skills

Nitride Spinel: An Ultraincompressible High‐Pressure Form of BeP2N4

Owing to its outstanding elastic properties, the nitride spinel γ‐Si3N4 is of considered interest for materials scientists and chemists. DFT calculations suggest that Si3N4‐analog beryllium phosphorus nitride BeP2N4 adopts the spinel structure at elevated pressures as well and shows outstanding elastic properties. Herein, we investigate phenakite‐type BeP2N4 by single‐crystal synchrotron X‐ray diffraction and report the phase transition into the spinel‐type phase at 47 GPa and 1800 K in a laser‐heated diamond anvil cell. The structure of spinel‐type BeP2N4 was refined from pressure‐dependent in situ synchrotron powder X‐ray diffraction measurements down to ambient pressure, which proves spinel‐type BeP2N4 a quenchable and metastable phase at ambient conditions. Its isothermal bulk modulus was determined to 325(8) GPa from equation of state, which indicates that spinel‐type BeP2N4 is an ultraincompressible material

Predesign Evaluation of St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University Campus Energy Efficiency Measures

This article describes the process and results of the first stage of work within the developed program of reconstruction of heating systems of the central platform of SPbSTU, according to the requirements of Federal Law No. 261-FZ of the Russian Federation “On energy saving and increase of energy efficiency”.Recent particular interest in energy efficiency in buildings and optimization of consumption of energy resources has determined the relevance of the work.The potential for energy saving measures has been evaluated and a concrete plan for further steps has been developed in the second stage of the work

Replacement Selenium Therapy in Acute Cerebral Damage

The current literature covers the role of selenium in metabolic processes and the importance of correcting its level in various diseases and critical conditions, including acute cerebral damage due to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE). Numerous experimental animal studies have demonstrated that selenium has protective properties and blocks the mechanisms of apoptosis, and is involved in maintaining the functional activity of neurons and inhibits astrogliosis. The study of the selenium content in the blood of patients with acute cerebral damage due to severe TBI and sepsis with verified SAE, and the development of schemes of replacement selenium therapy will improve outcomes, both in increasing survival and in reducing the resuscitation bed-day and the number of neurological deficits in the future

A closer look into close packing : Pentacoordinated silicon in a high-pressure polymorph of danburite

Due to their high technological and geological relevance, silicates are one of the most studied classes of inorganic compounds. Under ambient conditions, the silicon in silicates is almost exclusively coordinated by four oxygen atoms, while high-pressure treatment normally results in an increase in the coordination from four- to sixfold. Reported here is a high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of danburite, CaB₂Si₂O₈, the first compound showing a step-wise transition of Si coordination from tetrahedral to octahedral through a trigonal bipyramid. Along the compression, the Si₂O₇ groups of danburite first transform into chains of vertice-sharing SiO₅ trigonal bipyramids (danburite-II) and later into chains of edge-sharing SiO₆ octahedra (danburite-III). It is suggested that the unusual formation of an SiO₅ configuration is a consequence of filling up the pentacoordinated voids in the distorted hexagonal close packing of danburite-II

Diagnostics of Central and Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction in Patients with Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy

This chapter is devoted to monitoring of central and autonomic nervous system (ANS) in patients with verified sepsis to recognize the specific functional and anatomic changes in the brain and its important autonomic centers which is named sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE). Fluctuation of conscience level from agitation to delirium and coma, muscle tone, and severity of pain syndrome is evaluated with different scales (SOFA, SAPS II, RASS, CAM-ICU, FOUR, PBSS, BPS, MRC, MAS, CNS). Multimodal neuromonitoring includes EEG, EPs, ENMG, cerebral oxymetry, saturation in the bulb of the jugular vein, TCD, and neuroimaging (MRI, PET). Dysfunction of autonomic brainstem structures is detected with variational cardiointervalometry, pupillometry, thermometry (peripheral and central), photoplethysmography assessment of perfusion index, quantitative assessment of muscle strength on the MRC scale and MAS, and diagnostics of the severity of the PSH syndrome. Monitoring data help clinicians to make decisions on SAE patient management tactics

Predictors of thromboembolic complications in patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection

Aim. To identify predictors of the development of thromboembolic complications (TECs) in patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection. Materials and methods. A single-center observational retrospective study included 1634 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection. The patients were divided into 2 groups depending on the availability of the feasibility study. The criterion for inclusion of patients in the main group was the presence of venous feasibility studies in 127 patients (group I), the comparison group consisted of 1507 patients in whom the course of COVID-19 was not complicated by the development of feasibility studies (group II). Results. When performing computed tomography of the chest organs, it was revealed that patients with a feasibility study had a higher percentage of lung tissue damage than patients in the comparison group: 55% [37.5; 67.5] and 37.5% [25.0; 47.5], respectively (p0.001). The average values of C-reactive protein in I patients group were 129 [60.1; 211] ng/l, which was significantly higher than in II patients group – 41.0 [12.2; 97.6] ng/l (p0.001), interleukin-6 – 176 [52.9; 471] pg/ml and 39.4 [11.0; 107] pg/ml (p0.001), respectively. A one-factor regression analysis proved a significant contribution of comorbid pathology to the development of feasibility studies in patients with COVID-19. The presence of three nosologies at the same time: arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease (CHD) and chronic kidney disease increased the probability of a feasibility study by 4.81 times (odds ratio 4.8117, 95% confidence interval 3.2064–7.2207), in patients with arterial hypertension, CHD, chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes – by 5.63 times (odds ratio 5.6321, 95% confidence interval 3.1870–9.9531). Conclusion. The presence of severe comorbid pathology significantly increased the risk of developing a feasibility study in patients with COVID-19. The most significant predictors of the development of feasibility studies in patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection. They are: CHD, arterial hypertension and type 2 diabetes

Pressure tuning of charge ordering in iron oxide

A Verwey-type charge-ordering transition in magnetite at 120 K leads to the formation of linear units of three iron ions with one shared electron, called trimerons. The recently-discovered iron pentoxide (Fe$_4$O$_5$) comprising mixed-valent iron cations at octahedral chains, demonstrates another unusual charge-ordering transition at 150 K involving competing formation of iron trimerons and dimerons. Here, we experimentally show that applied pressure can tune the charge-ordering pattern in Fe$_4$O$_5$ and strongly affect the ordering temperature. We report two charge-ordered phases, the first of which may comprise both dimeron and trimeron units, whereas, the second exhibits an overall dimerization involving both the octahedral and trigonal-prismatic chains of iron in the crystal structure. We link the dramatic change in the charge-ordering pattern in the second phase to redistribution of electrons between the octahedral and prismatic iron chains, and propose that the average oxidation state of the iron cations can pre-determine a charge-ordering pattern

Influence of mitochondrial genome rearrangement on cucumber leaf carbon and nitrogen metabolism

The MSC16 cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) mitochondrial mutant was used to study the effect of mitochondrial dysfunction and disturbed subcellular redox state on leaf day/night carbon and nitrogen metabolism. We have shown that the mitochondrial dysfunction in MSC16 plants had no effect on photosynthetic CO2 assimilation, but the concentration of soluble carbohydrates and starch was higher in leaves of MSC16 plants. Impaired mitochondrial respiratory chain activity was associated with the perturbation of mitochondrial TCA cycle manifested, e.g., by lowered decarboxylation rate. Mitochondrial dysfunction in MSC16 plants had different influence on leaf cell metabolism under dark or light conditions. In the dark, when the main mitochondrial function is the energy production, the altered activity of TCA cycle in mutated plants was connected with the accumulation of pyruvate and TCA cycle intermediates (citrate and 2-OG). In the light, when TCA activity is needed for synthesis of carbon skeletons required as the acceptors for NH4+ assimilation, the concentration of pyruvate and TCA intermediates was tightly coupled with nitrate metabolism. Enhanced incorporation of ammonium group into amino acids structures in mutated plants has resulted in decreased concentration of organic acids and accumulation of Glu