Education projects for sustainable development:Evidence from Ural Federal University

Received 18 August 2019. Accepted 21 September 2019. Published online 5 October 2019.This study was first presented at the International Conference on Sustainable Cities (Sandler, Volkova, & Kochetkov, 2018).Sustainable development is a worldwide recognized social and political goal, discussed in both academic and political discourse and with much research on the topic related to sustainable development in higher education. Since mental models are formed more effectively at school age, we propose a new way of thinking that will help achieve this goal. The authors undertook this study in the context of Russia, where the topic of sustainable development in education has been yet poorly developed. The authors used the classical methodology of the case analysis. The analysis and interpretation of the results employed the framework of the institutional theory. Presented is the case of Ural Federal University, which has been working for several years on the creation of a device for the purification of industrial sewer water in the framework of an initiative student group. Schoolchildren recently joined the program, and such projects have been called university-to-school projects. Successful solutions for inventive tasks contribute to the formation of mental models. This case has been analyzed in terms of institutionalism, and the authors argue for the primacy of mental institutions over normative ones during sustainable society construction. This case study is the first to analyze a partnership between a Federal University and local schools regarding sustainable education and proposes a new way of thinking.The study was conducted with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project 18-00-01040 KOMFI “The Impact of Emerging Technologies on Urban Environment and the Quality of Life of Urban Communities”

2-Deoxyglucose, an Inhibitor of Glycolysis, Enhances the Oncolytic Effect of Coxsackievirus

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most common types of brain tumor. Despite intensive research, patients with GBM have a poor prognosis due to a very high rate of relapse and significant side effects of the treatment, with a median survival of 14.6 months. Oncolytic viruses are considered a promising strategy to eliminate GBM and other types of cancer, and several viruses have already been introduced into clinical practice. However, identification of the factors that underly the sensitivity of tumor species to oncolytic viruses or that modulate their clinical efficacy remains an important target. Here, we show that Coxsackievirus B5 (CVB5) demonstrates high oncolytic potential towards GBM primary cell species and cell lines. Moreover, 2-deoxyglucose (2DG), an inhibitor of glycolysis, potentiates the cytopathic effects of CVB5 in most of the cancer cell lines tested. The cells in which the inhibition of glycolysis enhanced oncolysis are characterized by high mitochondrial respiratory activity and glycolytic capacity, as determined by Seahorse analysis. Thus, 2-deoxyglucose and other analogs should be considered as adjuvants for oncolytic therapy of glioblastoma multiforme

Some Aspects of Development and Histological Structure of the Visual System of Nothobranchius Guentheri

In this, work some aspects of the development of the visual system of Nothobranchius guentheri at the main stages of ontogenesis were described for the first time. It was possible to establish that the formation of the visual system occurs similarly to other representatives of the order Cyprinodontiformes, but significantly differs in terms of the individual stages of embryogenesis due to the presence of diapause. In the postembryonic period, there is a further increase in the size of the fish’s eyes and head, to the proportions characteristic of adult fish. The histological structure of the eye in adult N. guentheri practically does not differ from most teleost fish living in the same environmental conditions. The study of the structure of the retina showed the heterogeneity of the thickness of the temporal and nasal areas, which indicates the predominant role of peripheral vision. Morphoanatomical measurements of the body and eyes of N. guentheri showed that their correlation was conservative. This indicates an important role of the visual system for the survival of fish in natural conditions, both for the young and adults. In individuals of the older age group, a decrease in the amount of sodium (Na) and an increase in magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) were found in the eye lens. Such changes in the elemental composition of the lens can be a sign of the initial stage of cataractogenesis and disturbances in the metabolism of lens fibers as a result of aging. This allows us to propose N. guentheri as a model for studying the structure, formation, and aging of the visual and nervous systems

Oncolytic therapy with recombinant vaccinia viruses targeting the interleukin-15 pathway elicits a synergistic response

We developed recombinant variants of oncolytic vaccinia virus LIVP strain expressing interleukin-15 (IL-15) or its receptor subunit alpha (IL-15Rα) to stimulate IL-15-dependent immune cells. We evaluated their oncolytic activity either alone or in combination with each other in vitro and in vivo using the murine CT26 colon carcinoma and 4T1 breast carcinoma models. We demonstrated that the admixture of these recombinant variants could promote the generation of the IL-15/IL-15Rα complex. In vitro studies indicated that 4T1 breast cancer cells were more susceptible to the developed recombinant viruses. In vivo studies showed significant survival benefits and tumor regression in 4T1 breast cancer syngeneic mice that received a combination of LIVP-IL15-RFP with LIVP-IL15Ra-RFP. Histological analysis showed recruited lymphocytes at the tumor region, while no harmful effects to the liver or spleen of the animals were detected. Evaluating tumor-infiltrated lymphocytes represented profound activation of cytotoxic T cells and macrophages in mice receiving combination therapy. Thus, our experiments showed superior oncolytic effectiveness of simultaneous injection of LIVP-IL15-RFP and LIVP-IL15Ra-RFP in breast cancer-bearing mice. The combined therapy by these recombinant variants represents a potent and versatile approach for developing new immunotherapies for breast cancer

Stretchable transparent light-emitting diodes based on ingan/gan quantum well microwires and carbon nanotube films

Funding Information: The authors J.E., C.D. and A.K. would like to thank Jean Dussaud for his work on the MOVPE setup. V.N. would like to thank Maria Baeva for her assistance with the stretchable LED transparency measurements.J.E., C.D. and A.K. thank French National Labex GaNeX (ANR-11-LABX-0014) for MW synthesis and CL measurements. V.N. thanks the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR project no. 19-32-60040) for PDMS/MW membrane fabrication and optical measurements. I.S.M., V.N., F.M.K. thank the support from the Russian Science Foundation (grant 20-19-00256) for PDMS synthesis and electrical measurements. D.K. and A.G.N. thank Russian Foundation of Basic Research project no. 20-03-00804 for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes. F.E.K. thanks the support from the Russian Science Foundation (grant 19-79-00313) for the LED array encapsulation and membrane transfer. I.S.M., F.M.K., V.N., V.A.M., S.M., A.A.V., A.V.U., and D.A.M. thank the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (FSRM-2020-0005) for the general support. N.A. and M.T. acknowledge the financial support from the ITN Marie Curie project INDEED (grant no. 722176), by the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR/CEFIPRA project no. 6008-1) for MW/PDMS membrane processing and characterization. Funding Information: Funding: J.E., C.D. and A.K. thank French National Labex GaNeX (ANR-11-LABX-0014) for MW synthesis and CL measurements. V.N. thanks the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR project no. 19-32-60040) for PDMS/MW membrane fabrication and optical measurements. I.S.M., V.N., F.M.K. thank the support from the Russian Science Foundation (grant 20-19-00256) for PDMS synthesis and electrical measurements. D.K. and A.G.N. thank Russian Foundation of Basic Research project no. 20-03-00804 for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes. F.E.K. thanks the support from the Russian Science Foundation (grant 19-79-00313) for the LED array encapsulation and membrane transfer. I.S.M., F.M.K., V.N., V.A.M., S.M., A.A.V., A.V.U., and D.A.M. thank the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (FSRM-2020-0005) for the general support. N.A. and M.T. acknowledge the financial support from the ITN Marie Curie project INDEED (grant no. 722176), by the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR/CEFIPRA project no. 6008-1) for MW/PDMS membrane processing and characterization. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.We propose and demonstrate both flexible and stretchable blue light-emitting diodes based on core/shell InGaN/GaN quantum well microwires embedded in polydimethylsiloxane membranes with strain-insensitive transparent electrodes involving single-walled carbon nanotubes. InGaN/GaN core-shell microwires were grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy, encapsulated into a polydimethylsiloxane film, and then released from the growth substrate. The fabricated free-standing membrane of light-emitting diodes with contacts of single-walled carbon nanotube films can stand up to 20% stretching while maintaining efficient operation. Membrane-based LEDs show less than 15% degradation of electroluminescence intensity after 20 cycles of stretching thus opening an avenue for highly deformable inorganic devices.Peer reviewe

Multi-Omics Analysis of Glioblastoma Cells’ Sensitivity to Oncolytic Viruses

Oncolytic viruses have gained momentum in the last decades as a promising tool for cancer treatment. Despite the progress, only a fraction of patients show a positive response to viral therapy. One of the key variable factors contributing to therapy outcomes is interferon-dependent antiviral mechanisms in tumor cells. Here, we evaluated this factor using patient-derived glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cultures. Cell response to the type I interferons’ (IFNs) stimulation was characterized at mRNA and protein levels. Omics analysis revealed that GBM cells overexpress interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) and upregulate their proteins, similar to the normal cells. A conserved molecular pattern unambiguously differentiates between the preserved and defective responses. Comparing ISGs’ portraits with titration-based measurements of cell sensitivity to a panel of viruses, the “strength” of IFN-induced resistance acquired by GBM cells was ranked. The study demonstrates that suppressing a single ISG and encoding an essential antiviral protein, does not necessarily increase sensitivity to viruses. Conversely, silencing IFIT3 and PLSCR1 genes in tumor cells can negatively affect the internalization of vesicular stomatitis and Newcastle disease viruses. We present evidence of a complex relationship between the interferon response genes and other factors affecting the sensitivity of tumor cells to viruses

Modified silicone rubber for fabrication and contacting of flexible suspended membranes of n-/p-GaP nanowires with a single-walled carbon nanotube transparent contact

Rubber materials are the key components of flexible optoelectronic devices, especially for the light-emitting diodes based on arrays of inorganic nanowires (NWs). This paper reports on polydimethylsiloxane-graft-polystyrene (PDMS-St) as a new flexible substrate of GaP NW array structures. The NWs were encapsulated by the newly introduced G-coating method to substitute the inefficient mainstream spin-coating. To further exploit the flexibility and the stretchability of the NW/PDMS-St structures, the ferrocenyl-containing polymethylhydrosiloxane was synthesized and successfully used as an electrode for the NWs. In order to make an alternative highly efficient transparent electrode, a new application of conductive single-walled carbon nanotubes was demonstrated. The novel materials and methods demonstrated unsurpassed mechanical stability of the fabricated flexible electronic devices.Peer reviewe

Evaluation of Age-Dependent Changes in the Coloration of Male Killifish Nothobranchius Guentheri Using New Photoprocessing Methods

Fish as model objects have found wide applications in biology and fundamental medicine and allow studies of behavioral and physiological responses to various environmental factors. Representatives of the genus Nothobranchius are one of the most convenient objects for such studies. Male fish belonging to the family Nothobranchiidae are characterized by extremely diverse coloration, which constantly changes, depending on the age of the fish, environmental factors, and social hierarchical status. These fish species are characterized by a short life cycle, which allows changes in coloration, an indicator of the ontogenesis stage, to be estimated. Existing methods of fish color assessments do not allow the intensity of coloration of particular body zones to be clearly differentiated. In the present study, we suggest a method of two-factor assessment of specific fish body zones using modified methods of photofixation and image processing software. We describe the protocol of the method and the results of its application to different-aged groups of male Nothobranchius guentheri. The coloration of selected areas (i.e., red spot on the gill cover (RSGC), black border on the caudal fin (BBCF), and white border on the dorsal fin (WBDF)) differed significantly according to the size and age of the fish (p N. guentheri can be a model for studying aging by the intensity of body coloration in males