Some features of the causal links in different cultures

This article touches upon the problem of the meaning of causation and its role in forming and functioning of linguistic and cultural map of the world. The author comes to the conclusion, that in a process of consideration of problems concerned with methods of causal connection organization some specific national features of different nations' relations to some categories, like cause and effect are exposed. The knowledge of the reasons of different events and phenomena occurring in a society assists in a much more successful realization of multicultural communication

Optical echo in photonic crystals

The dynamics of photonic wavepacket in the effective oscillator potential is studied. The oscillator potential is constructed on a base of one dimensional photonic crystal with a period of unit cell adiabatically varied in space. The structure has a locally equidistant discrete spectrum. This leads to an echo effect, i.e. the periodical reconstruction of the packet shape. The effect can be observed in a nonlinear response of the system. Numerical estimations for porous-silicon based structures are presented for femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser pump.Comment: 4 page

CHANGING SCHOOL-BASED ANXIETY DURING PHYSICAL EDUCATION, TAKING THE INDIVIDUAL TYPOLOGICAL APPROACH INTO ACCOUNT

Purpose of the study: The purpose of the study is to identify changes in school-based anxiety in children aged 12 – 13 during their physical education using a special Program for the individual typological approach implementation. Methodology: Two groups had been formed: reference and experimental (25 people each); three methods were used (Method for studying individual typological peculiarities of middle-school children by A. Belov, Method of Kondash's anxiety scale (1973), and Method of identifying general physical education of students); diagnostic testing of physical fitness was conducted (long jump from the spot; lifting the body in 30 sec. (press); push-up (girls); pulling up on the crossbar (boys); running 30 meters, shuttle running 3x10; bending forward from a sitting position). Main Findings: The results of the study have been statistically processed with Excel 2000 and STATISTICA 8.0, using the Student's t-test for dependent and independent samples. The M average has been found; the differences have been considered significant at p < 0.05. Applications of this study: The Program for the individual typological approach implementation has been compiled with an emphasis on reducing school-based anxiety in children aged 12 – 13; its features, objectives, indicators, criteria, content, and forms of implementation have been substantiated; a set of general physical exercises has been developed for each type of temperament, which includes the exercises for some groups of muscles of the upper shoulder girdle, back muscles, abdomen, and hips. Novelty/Originality of this study: The significant improvement in the physical fitness of students from the experimental group compared to the reference one identified during the term proves the efficiency of the implemented physical education program, taking into account the individual typological approach to the personality of adolescents with an emphasis on reducing their school-based anxiety. The results of the study have allowed formulating recommendations for improving the approaches to conducting physical education classes

Borrmann Effect in Photonic Crystals: Nonlinear Optical Consequences

Nonlinear-optical manifestations of the Borrmann effect that are consequences of the spectral dependence of the spatial distributions of the electromagnetic field in a structure are observed in one-dimensional photonic crystals. The spectrum of the light self-focusing effect corresponding to the propagation-matrix calculations has been measured near the edge of the photonic gap.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, published in russian at Pis'ma v Zhurnal Eksperimental'noi i Teoreticheskoi Fiziki, 2008, Vol. 87, No. 8, pp. 461-46

Beer classification based on the array of solid-contact Potentiometric sensors with thiacalixarene receptors

Potentiometric sensors based on carbon electrodes made by screen-printing and glassy carbon electrodes covered with electropolymerized polyaniline and thiacalix[4]arene receptors have been developed for discrimination of various beer brands using three sensors. The prediction was 100% true according to principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc

Combination of increased situational anxiety and endothelial dysfunction in young athletes as a condition for microcirculation spasm: assessment methods and correction using a specialized honey bar-candy

Objective: study of psychoemotional-volitional sphere and endothelium-dependent factors of cardiovascular risk, the level of performance and recovery time in athletes before and after a 2-month intake of a specialized athlete’s nutrition product (SANP) honey bar-candy “Gold F25 ApiSpeis Light”.Materials and methods: the main group of 58 athletes (under the age of 18) used SANP for 2 months. Control group-1 included 32 schoolchildren and students, not athletes, to assess the age limits of endothelium-dependent vasodilation, blood composition and the presence of risk factors for atherosclerosis in young athletes. The control group-2 included 30 young athletes under 18 years old without the use of SANP to compare the indicators in the main group before and after taking the honey bar. The psycho-emotional sphere was studied using the Spielberger-Hanin scale of anxiety and WAM testing: Well-being, Activity and Mood. In addition, the maximum achieved load, maximum oxygen consumption, time to reach the threshold of anaerobic metabolism, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, neurovegetative stress index and recovery time after exercise were determined. Also, tests with reactive hyperemia (TRH) and hyperventilation (TGV) on the brachial artery were performed to assess endothelium-dependent vasodilation and vasoconstriction, conjunctival biomicroscopy on a slit lamp with calibrometry of arterioles and venules, general and biochemical blood tests.Results: the normalization of situational anxiety, psychoemotional stress and hyperfunction of the sympathoadrenal system was established. There was a decrease in the levels of cortisol, neurovegetative stress index, improvement of well-being, activity and mood against the background of elimination of endothelial dysfunction, improved performance and reduced recovery time after work. The analysis of multiple canonical correlations revealed a close relationship between the psychoemotional state, endothelial dysfunction and microcirculation spasm (R = 0.86; p < 0.0001).Conclusion: it has been proven that a combination of increased situational anxiety, neurovegetative overexertion, hyperfunction of the sympathoadrenal system and endothelial dysfunction can form a spastic type of peripheral circulation and provoke the onset of arterial hypertension. It was found that the course intake of honey ingot has anti-stress, antioxidant, erythropoietic, vasodilating and antispastic effects, improves performance and recovery after stress. Ingot “Gold F25 ApiSpeis Light” is included in the FMBA Formulary as a specialized product for the nutrition of young athletes of the Russian national teams

A thorny pathway of macrophage activating factor (GcMAF): from bench to bedside

Vitamin D3 Binding Protein (DBP) is a multifunctional glycoprotein whose main role is to transport vitamin D3 and its metabolites, but it also is the precursor of the macrophage activating factor (GcMAF). DBP is converted to GcMAF as a result of site-specific selective deglycosylation under the action of β-galactosidase and sialidase, localized on activated B and T cells, respectively. GcMAF exerts its biological activity primarily as the capability of activating macrophages by enhancing their phagocytic function and producing ROS. Activation results in elevated expression of the specific macrophageal surface receptors involved in the recognition of tumor-associated antigens, as well as in the implementation of direct anticancer activity by inducing the apoptosis or necrosis of tumor cells. Increased interest in GcMAF is associated with its potential to be used in the clinic as a new antitumor drug. Besides its anti-tumor activity, GcMAF exerts a potential against a number of viral and neurodegenerative diseases associated with increased activity of N-acetylgalactosaminidase (nagalase) in the blood serum of patients. Nagalase is an enzyme that completely (rather than selectively) deglycosylates DBP so it cannot be converted to GcMAF, leading to immunodeficiency. Circulating DBP is composed of unmodified and O-glycosylated molecules with the glycosylation degree being dependent on the allelic variants of the gene encoding DBP. The role of DBP in the resistance of organism against a number of diseases is supported by the increased risk of a variety of severe illnesses (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, colorectal cancer etc.) in patients deficient for GcMAF due to homozygosity for defective DBP alleles. In this review, we also will examine in detail the current data i) on the structure and functions of DBP, as the main precursor of GcMAF, ii) on the main mechanisms of GcMAF anticancer effect, iii) on the tumor strategy for neutralizing GcMAF activity, iv) on the results of GcMAF clinical trials in various cancers; and will discuss the available controversies regarding the positioning of GcMAF as an effective antitumor drug

EFFECTIVE SEISMIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR NEW GEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES IN EAST SIBERIA

Currently, East Siberia as a whole and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in particular are the territories of extensive geological exploration. Field geophysical surveys are mainly performed by seismic technologies used to discover new deposits and provide data for detailed appraisal of the known fields. Three-dimensional seismic surveys are effectively used for clarifying the details of geologic structures and obtaining the data for drilling programs. Upon further development of technologies, improvements are introduced in field operations, seismic data processing and interpretation, and drilling programs. As the information content of the survey data increases, it becomes possible to revise and update geological models and/or develop them in a more detail. With the use of modern data processing technologies that preserve the signals and depth migration data, the tectonic model of the Srednebotuobinskoe Oil and Gas Condensate Field was fully modified. Furthermore, additional isolated tectonic blocks were discovered in the eastern part of the Central deposit, and their map was constructed. The geological exploration based on the updated tectonic model is successful – new mineral reserves have been discovered, and the vector of geological exploration has been completely changed

Restoration of Visual Function by Expression of a Light-Gated Mammalian Ion Channel in Retinal Ganglion Cells or ON-Bipolar Cells

Most inherited forms of blindness are caused by mutations that lead to photoreceptor cell death but spare second- and third-order retinal neurons. Expression of the light-gated excitatory mammalian ion channel light-gated ionotropic glutamate receptor (LiGluR) in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) of the retina degeneration (rd1) mouse model of blindness was previously shown to restore some visual functions when stimulated by UV light. Here, we report restored retinal function in visible light in rodent and canine models of blindness through the use of a second-generation photoswitch for LiGluR, maleimide-azobenzene-glutamate 0 with peak efficiency at 460 nm (MAG0460). In the blind rd1 mouse, multielectrode array recordings of retinal explants revealed robust and uniform light-evoked firing when LiGluR-MAG0460 was targeted to RGCs and robust but diverse activity patterns in RGCs when LiGluR-MAG0460 was targeted to ON-bipolar cells (ON-BCs). LiGluR-MAG0460 in either RGCs or ON-BCs of the rd1 mouse reinstated innate light-avoidance behavior and enabled mice to distinguish between different temporal patterns of light in an associative learning task. In the rod-cone dystrophy dog model of blindness, LiGluR-MAG0460 in RGCs restored robust light responses to retinal explants and intravitreal delivery of LiGluR and MAG0460 was well tolerated in vivo. The results in both large and small animal models of photoreceptor degeneration provide a path to clinical translation