Developing creative thinking in children

Background. The widely discussed issue of developing creative thinking in childhood is the massive decline in creativity in many children in countries according tom Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). The methodological restrictions of the test approach and descriptive methods make it difficult to find an answer to the question of different aspects of creativity development in childhood, so this problem does not receive sufficient consideration in modern developmental psychology. The Objective of the theoretical and analytical research is to study the status quo and modern approaches to the issue of child’s creative thinking, to substantiate the methodology of the «gradual development» trend that reveals the line of functional development of logical and creative actions in the development of human psyche, the discussion of applied issues related to overcoming the crisis situations when dealing with creativity in modern children. Design. The theoretical-analytical research consistently substantiates the methodology of «gradual development» as a system of objective requirements for the mental process («ideal form») and conditions ensuring the fulfillment of these requirements (appropriation of the tool of activity in the orienting function); the idea of functional development of the child’s psyche is revealed. The restrictions of the psychometric test method in resolving the problem of creativity development in children throughout the 20th century and at the present time are discussed. Research Results. The analysis of the «gradual development» methodology showed how the conditions for mediation and growth of productivity indicators in the solution of the divergent tasks of the Picture Construction Test (Torrance, 1966) in preschool children is approaching the pre-established «ideal form». In the course of the task management, the qualitatively different types of child behaviour of enhancing the properties of their actions are identified: proactivity, reflexivity, control. The results showed that qualitative discrepancies in the productivity types of solving various tasks by preschool children are significantly associated with their intellectual level. Conclusion. The prospects of the functional and age development of the child’s psyche is shown to explore the theoretical and applied problems of the development of creative thinking in ontogeny. The application of the P.Ya. Galperin’s concept of orientation to non-standard (divergent) problems allowed to consider the most renowned tests of creative talent proposed by E.P. Torrance in identifying the creative potential of a normally developing child

Reproduction of experimental spatio-temporal structures in traffic flows using mathematical model based on cellular automata theory

The paper deals with mathematical modelling of traffic flows on urban road networks using cellular automata theory. Two versions of the model based on Nagel-Schreckenberg traffic flow model were created. They both are multilane, include complex driver behaviour algorithms and allow simulating traffic on various road elements and on road networks. One of the models is using “slow-to-start” concept that represents the fact that it takes drivers more time to accelerate when they just start moving in comparison with the situation when their speed is already above zero. The goal of the work was to reproduce experimental spatio-temporal patterns on traffic velocity diagrams with the created models and to research the difference between them and to determine the range of the applicability for each. Parallel algorithms of realisation for the models are created. Computations are carried out for each element of the road (T or X type intersection, on-ramp, road fragment with widening or bottleneck, straight road fragment, etc.) separately and in parallel, that allows performing calculations on various complex road networks. Different kinds of average characteristics (such as, for instance, the capacity of the crossroad) can be also obtained using the created program package. Computations show that the results obtained are in an agreement with experimental data and therefore can be used for practical traffic flow modelling in cities

Laser Printing of Gel Microdrops with Living Cells and Microorganisms

We report the results of experiments on laser printing (wavelength λ=1064 nm) with gel microdrops acting as carriers of living microbial and cellular objects. The dynamics of transport processes with the help of high-speed optical video was studied, which allows to determine characteristics of the formed gel jets and to optimize the operating mode of the laser. It is shown that laser pulses of 4 to 20 ns duration and energy E ≤ 20 μJ should be used to minimize the negative effect on living systems. The results can be used to optimize the technologies of cellular printing and laser engineering of microbial systems (LEMS). LEMS technology is used to isolate hard-cultivated and non-cultivated by classical methods of microorganisms that can act as producers of new biologically active substances and antibiotics. Keywords: laser printing, gel, microdrop, living cell, microbia

PREVALENCE OF POLYMORPHOUS LOCUS 681G>A OF CYP2C19 GENE IN RUSSIAN POPULATION

The prevalence of genotypes and alleles of polymorphous locus 681G>A of CYP2C19 gene in Russian population of Eastern Siberia. We conducted comparative analysis of response characteristics with previous data of other world's populations. Genotyping was conducted using PCR method. Statistical processing was performed using «Hardy - Weinberg equilibrium calculator» and STATISTICA 8.0. Significant differences of prevalence of alleles of studied polymorphous locus between researched population and data of other researchers were discovered

An Explicit Algorithm for the Simulation of Fluid Flow through Porous Media

The work deals with the development of an original mathematical model of porous medium flow constructed by analogy with the quasigasdynamic system of equations and allowing implementation via explicit numerical methods. The model is generalized to the case of multiphase multicomponent fluid and takes into account possible heat sources. The proposed approach is verified by a number of test predictions

Poly(ADP-ribose)glycohydrolase is an upstream regulator of Ca2+ fluxes in oxidative cell death

Oxidative DNA damage to cells activates poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1 (PARP-1) and the poly(ADP-ribose) formed is rapidly degraded to ADP-ribose by poly(ADP-ribose)glycohydrolase (PARG). Here we show that PARP-1 and PARG control extracellular Ca2+ fluxes through melastatin-like transient receptor potential 2 channels (TRPM2) in a cell death signaling pathway. TRPM2 activation accounts for essentially the entire Ca2+ influx into the cytosol, activating caspases and causing the translocation of apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) from the inner mitochondrial membrane to the nucleus followed by cell death. Abrogation of PARP-1 or PARG function disrupts these signals and reduces cell death. ADP-ribose-loading of cells induces Ca2+ fluxes in the absence of oxidative damage, suggesting that ADP-ribose is the key metabolite of the PARP-1/PARG system regulating TRPM2. We conclude that PARP-1/PARG control a cell death signal pathway that operates between five different cell compartments and communicates via three types of chemical messengers: a nucleotide, a cation, and proteins

Development of a design technique of vibration wear and recommendations to improve wear resistance of app heat exchanging equipment pipes

The study deals with vibration wear of heat exchange pipes and fuel elements. The aim is to study the effect of vibromechanical and thermohydraulic parameters on the vibration wear value, to create the design technique. The effect of thermohydraulic processes on the vibration wear value is first studied. Criteria are introduced determining thermohydraulic conditions in the node of contact "heat exchange pipe - ranging lattice". The technique of estimating the value of vibration wear of heat exchange pipes is developed which was proved by resource testsAvailable from VNTIC / VNTIC - Scientific & Technical Information Centre of RussiaSIGLERURussian Federatio