Personalization framework for adaptive robotic feeding assistance

The final publication is available at link.springer.comThe deployment of robots at home must involve robots with pre-defined skills and the capability of personalizing their behavior by non-expert users. A framework to tackle this personalization is presented and applied to an automatic feeding task. The personalization involves the caregiver providing several examples of feeding using Learning-by- Demostration, and a ProMP formalism to compute an overall trajectory and the variance along the path. Experiments show the validity of the approach in generating different feeding motions to adapt to user’s preferences, automatically extracting the relevant task parameters. The importance of the nature of the demonstrations is also assessed, and two training strategies are compared. © Springer International Publishing AG 2016.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Pinned Low Energy Electronic Excitation in Metal Exchanged Vanadium Oxide Nanoscrolls

We measured the optical properties of mixed valent vanadium oxide nanoscrolls and their metal exchanged derivatives in order to investigate the charge dynamics in these compounds. In contrast to the prediction of a metallic state for the metal exchanged derivatives within a rigid band model, we find that the injected charges in Mn$^{2+}$ exchanged vanadium oxide nanoscrolls are pinned. A low-energy electronic excitation associated with the pinned carriers appears in the far infrared and persists at low temperature, suggesting that the nanoscrolls are weak metals in their bulk form, dominated by inhomogeneous charge disproportionation and Madelung energy effects.Comment: 4 figure

Intrusive growth of sclerenchyma fibers

Intrusive growth is a type of cell elongation when the rate of its longitudinal growth is higher than that of surrounding cells; therefore, these cells intrude between the neighboring cells penetrating the middle lamella. The review considers the classical example of intrusive growth, e.g., elongation of sclerenchyma fibers when the cells achieve the length of several centimeters. We sum the published results of investigations of plant fiber intrusive growth and present some features of intrusive growth characterized by the authors for flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) and hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) fibers. The following characteristics of intrusive growth are considered: its rate and duration, relationship with the growth rate of surrounding cells, the type of cell elongation, peculiarities of the fiber primary cell wall structure, fibers as multinucleate cells, and also the control of intrusive growth. Genes, which expression is sharply reduced at suppression of intrusive growth, are also considered. Arguments for separation of cell elongation and secondary cell wall formation in phloem fibers and also data indicating diffuse type of cell enlargement during intrusive growth are presented

Health-saving as a factor of success of the lesson in the system of additional education for children

В статье проанализированы причины ухудшения здоровья детей, даны определения здоровьесбережения и здоровьесберегающих технологий, рассмотрены принципы здоровьесбережения в системе дополнительного образования детей, критерии оценки учебного занятия в аспекте здоровьесбережения.The article analyzes the causes of deterioration of children’s health, defines health-saving and health-saving technologies, discusses the principles of health-saving in the system of additional education, the criteria for assessing the lesson in terms of health-saving

Dynamics of Digital Inequality in Russia

This article contains research about the phenomenon of digital inequality among different social groups in Russia. The short literature review, conducted in it, concerns the factors, which have an impact on the rise and spread of digital inequality. The types of digital inequality have been analyzed, and each of them has the relative digital divide indicators calculated. It has been revealed, that the digital divide in terms of the Internet and information and communications technology access between the rural and urban population has been decreased, however the divide in terms of digital skills has been increased. There is almost no digital divide in ICT among the middle-aged groups, and it is constantly decreasing. Although the digital divide among the older-aged groups is also growing down, it is still high, and the divide in digital skills remains unchanged. It is noted, that the country’s territory in length objectively increases the IT infrastructure costs, hampers providing for the high-quality internet-connection for the rural people and is the reason for digital divide in terms of Internet-access

Role of MNCs in changing preferences for food consumption in Russia under import substitution

The paper analyses the changes in the food market in terms of supply and demand in the context of import substitution and a decrease in the purchasing power of the population. It explores the reasons behind a rise in food prices, studies consumer preferences and criteria for choosing food products, and reveals the distinguishing features of Russian consumers’ behavior in the food market under the conditions of the import substitution policy. The article shows that, in general, multinational companies engaged in the food industry have managed to successfully integrate into the import substitution policy in the context of post-crisis development.peer-reviewe

Comparative analysis of the best practices in the economic policy of import substitution

The modern challenges, the sanctions and the state of the economy made it possible to implement the import-substitution policy measures. This article provides a brief overview of the policies of import substitution, which have been carried out in various countries since the middle of the last century.The evaluation of these practices by the scientists is considered and their conclusions are summarized. The main results of the policy of import substitution of the countries of Latin America, Asia, and Europe are summarized. To this end, the risks able to impede the implementation of the import substitution policies are identified herein, the performance criteria for the implementation of the policy at the general economic and sectoral levels are proposed, and the principles of the state approach to the import substitution are formulated.peer-reviewe