Educational robotics for communication, collaboration and digital fluency

This paper is the experience-based summary of the work with the design, implementation and results from an “Educational Robotics and Creativity Workshop” under the EU funded Horizon 2020 project “ER4STEM – Educational Robotics for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics”. This paper gives an overview of the empirical data obtained from the post-workshop questionnaires, completed by the participants from 13 educational robotics workshops, performed in 7 schools (public and private) in Bulgaria with 312 students (142 girls and 170 boys) in the time period from February 16, 2016 until May 31, 2016. The students were between 7 and 14 years old with the majority of them aged between 9 and 10 years old

VIOLATION OF INFORMATION ECOLOGY IN MEDIA SPACE

The extreme “pollution” of the global information space has a negative impact on the social well-being of the population for media space is a kind of social space covered by the media. It is necessary to create an effective system of legal protection and social guarantees so that any citizen can receive minimal social protection and be protected from the negative impact of the adverse ecology of the mass media. Not everyone who is experiencing intense exposure to the media is aware of its negative effects including “fatigue syndrome”. To prevent it, D. Lewis proposes the following algorithm: use all information technologies of business and everyday communication; improve the methods of studying and processing data; set the right priorities for their analysis and use [26]. All media and actors that interact with them must master information culture, for which it is necessary to train specialists in the field of media ecology who are aware of the influence of media and social technologies on people’s feelings, thoughts, values and behavior. So far, experts on media ecology do not have a sufficient theoretical basis for conducting sociological research and identifying how the media forces the audience to structure what it sees, hears and feels in a certain way. Today’s media (especially electronic) can have a violent and undesirable effect - this is not only a psychological but also a philosophical, social and cultural problem that affects both children and adults. “Information anarchy” leads not only to moderate negative consequences but in some cases to “information ecocide” - destruction of traditional information and the media. Countering the contamination of the information environment should include the following steps: development of requirements for the content creation; monitoring of the collection, storage, processing and destruction of information; development of criteria for assessing the use of information. It is necessary to introduce a single rating system for information products, which will allow users to evaluate the quality of information sources according to the following criteria: purity of information; work on creating content; source coverage; quality (completeness) of information; sources of specific data sets; social-demographic characteristics of potential users

ВЛИЯНИЕ ПОГОДНЫХ УСЛОВИЙ ВЕГЕТАЦИОННОГО ПЕРИОДА НА УРОЖАЙНОСТЬ ЯРОВОЙ ПШЕНИЦЫ И ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТЬ АЗОТНОГО УДОБРЕНИЯ В ЛЕСОСТЕПИ ПРИОБЬЯ

The purpose of the study is to identify the dependence of spring wheat productivity on agrometeorological indicators of the vegetation period at various levels of nitrogen nutrition in the central forest-steppe of the Ob Region. Wheat of medium early varieties was grown in a wheat-barley crop rotation at doses N0, N30, N60 and N90 against the background of a full range of plant protection products. The correlation between wheat productivity and agrometeorological indicators was evaluated based on the results of 13 years of research. To characterize the hydrothermal conditions, we used the reserve of productive moisture in the soil, the amount of precipitation and air temperature, the Selyaninov hydrothermal coefficient , and the Ponko wetting coefficient. Over the years, grain yield varied from 7.2 to 43.6 kg / ha, Selyaninov coefficient - from 0.18 to 1.67. The highest correlation coefficients (0.7–0.8) were obtained between wheat productivity and indicators of hydrothermal conditions in June - July. Moreover, with the amount of precipitation of this period, the dependence was positive, with air temperature - negative. No reliable relationship was found between grain yield and spring stock of productive moisture in the soil. The tightness of the relationship between wheat productivity and the Selyaninov hydrothermal coefficient and Ponko hydration coefficient was the same, with the highest correlation coefficients also obtained for June – July. The increase in wheat grain from nitrogen fertilizer increased significantly as the hydrothermal conditions of the growing season improved. Based on the obtained values   of the fertilizer nitrogen payback by increasing the crop, it was concluded that the current price ratio - the sale of grain by the farms and their purchase of nitrogen fertilizers (approximately 1:7) is unfavorable for the development of intensive crop cultivation technologies.Цель исследования – выявить зависимость урожайности яровой пшеницы от агрометеорологических показателей вегетационного периода при различных уровнях азотного питания в центральной лесостепи Приобья. Пшеницу среднеранних сортов выращивали в севообороте «пшеница – ячмень» при дозах N0, N30, N60 и N90 на фоне полного комплекса средств защиты растений. Корреляционную связь урожайности пшеницы с агрометеорологическими показателями оценивали по результатам 13 лет исследования. Для характеристики гидротермических условий использовали запас продуктивной влаги в почве, количество осадков и температуру воздуха, гидротермический коэффициент Селянинова, коэффициент увлажнения Понько. За годы исследования урожайность зерна изменялась от 7,2 до 43,6 ц/га, коэффициент Селянинова – от 0,18 до 1,67. Наибольшие коэффициенты корреляции (0,7–0,8) получены между урожайностью пшеницы и показателями гидротермических условий июня – июля. Причем с количеством осадков этого периода зависимость была положительной, с температурой воздуха – отрицательной. Не выявлено достоверной связи между урожайностью зерна и весенним запасом продуктивной влаги в почве. Теснота связи урожайности пшеницы с гидротермическим коэффициентом Селянинова и коэффициентом увлажнения Понько была одинаковой, причем наибольшие коэффициенты корреляции также получены для июня – июля. Прибавки урожайности зерна пшеницы от азотного удобрения значительно возрастали по мере улучшения гидротермических условий вегетационного периода. На основании полученных величин окупаемости азота удобрения прибавкой урожая сделан вывод, что текущее соотношение цен реализации хозяйствами зерна и покупки ими азотных удобрений (примерно 1:7) неблагоприятно для освоения интенсивных технологий возделывания культур

Влияние минимизации обработки на баланс углерода в почве в лесостепи новосибирского Приобья

The study aimed to assess the carbon balance in leached chernozem when used in a long-term field experiment in 2 variants: with annual ploughing to a depth of 25 – 27 cm and surface treatment by 6 – 8 cm. In the experiment, spring wheat was grown using intensive technology in a crop rotation, pure fallow - wheat - wheat. The variants of the experiment differed in the number of plant residues: straw was removed from half of the fields, and on the other half, it was planted and crushed into the soil after harvesting. The authors estimated the carbon balance based on the element’s input into the ground with plant residues (straw and roots) and its losses in the form of CO2  from the soil’s organic matter during the growing season. The total loss of С–СО2 for the period May – September was calculated based on the average daily rate of production of СО2 , which was determined in the field of pure fallow once a week by the absorption method. Minimization, the transition from ploughing to surface tillage, did not significantly impact the average annual wheat yield (2.49 – 2.60 t/ha) and the number of plant residues (1670 – 1818 kg C/ha of arable land). Also, between these treatment backgrounds, no significant differences were found in the average annual mineralization of organic matter and the carbon balance in the soil. These indicators depended only on the amount of plant matter (straw and roots) entering the ground. The poor credit of carbon in the land (-752 kg C/ha of arable land) was registered when straw was alienated from the field. When it was left on the field, the balance of the element became much more favourable (-88 kg C/ha of arable land), approaching a deficit-free state. The authors concluded that a carbon balance close to a deficit-free one was ensured, regardless of the primary tillage with an average annual wheat yield in a 3-field grain-fallow crop rotation of about 2.5 t/ha of grain and the incorporation of the entire non-marketable part of the crop into the soil in the leached chernozem.Цель исследования заключалась в оценке баланса углерода в черноземе выщелоченном при использовании его в многолетнем полевом опыте в двух вариантах: при ежегодной вспашке на глубину 25–27 см и поверхностной обработке на 6–8 см. В опыте выращивали яровую пшеницу по интенсивной технологии в севообороте «чистый пар – пшеница – пшеница». Варианты опыта различались количеством растительных остатков: с половины полей солому удаляли, на другой – заделывали измельченной в почву после уборки урожая. Баланс углерода оценивали на основе учета прихода элемента в почву с растительными остатками (соломой и корнями) и его потерь в виде СО2 из органического вещества почвы за вегетационный период. Суммарные потери С–СО2  за период май – сентябрь рассчитывали на основании среднесуточной скорости продуцирования СО2 , которую определяли на поле чистого пара один раз в неделю абсорбционным методом. Минимизация, переход от вспашки к поверхностной обработке почвы, не оказала существенного влияния на среднегодовую урожайность пшеницы (2,49–2,60 т/га) и количество растительных остатков (1670–1818 кг С/га пашни). Между этими фонами обработки не обнаружено также значительных различий в среднегодовой минерализации органического вещества и балансе углерода в почве. Оба эти показателя существенно зависели только от количества поступавшего в почву растительного вещества (соломы и корней). Наиболее дефицитный баланс углерода в почве (-752 кг С/га пашни) зарегистрирован при отчуждении соломы с поля. При ее оставлении на поле баланс элемента становился значительно более благоприятным (-88 кг С/га пашни), приближаясь к бездефицитному состоянию. Сделан вывод, что при среднегодовой урожайности пшеницы в трехпольном зернопаровом севообороте около 2,5 т/га зерна и заделке в почву всей нетоварной части урожая в черноземе выщелоченном обеспечивался близкий к бездефицитному баланс углерода независимо от приема основной обработки

Особенности диагностики и клинико-генетические характеристики наследственных вариантов младенческой эпилепсии

One of the most common neurological symptoms in children of the first year of life is seizures, the etiology of which is manifold. Investigations in recent years have shown that a significant number of infantile seizures are hereditary in nature. The review identifies the main groups of hereditary diseases and syndromes, in whose symptom complex convulsions are observed, outlines the main features of their clinical manifestations and methods of diagnosis. Correct and timely diagnosis of hereditary pathology helps not only to determine the nature of the course of the disease and the effectiveness of the use of various antiepileptic drugs, but also to significantly improve the effectiveness of genetic counseling of burdened families and to prevent the occurrence of recurrent cases оf disease. Судороги различной этиологии являются одним из самых частых неврологических симптомов у детей первого года жизни. Результаты исследований последних лет показали, что в большинстве случаев судороги у младенцев имеют наследственную природу. В данном обзоре рассмотрены основные группы наследственных болезней и синдромов, в симптомокомплексе которых наблюдаются судороги, изложены основные особенности их клинических проявлений и способы диагностики. Правильная и своевременная диагностика наследственной патологии помогает определить характер течения болезни и эффективность использования разных противоэпилептических препаратов, а также значительно повысить эффективность медико-генетического консультирования отягощенных семей и осуществить профилактику возникновения повторных случаев заболевания.

CERN PS laser ion source development

CERN, together with ITEP and TRINITI (Russia), is developing a CO2 laser ion source. The key design parameters are: 1.4 1010 ions of Pb25+ in a pulse of 5.5 ms, with a 4-rms emittance of 0.2 10-6 rad m, working at a repetition rate of 1 Hz. This device is considered as one candidate source for LHC heavy ion operation. The status of the laser development, the experimental set-up of the source consisting of the target area and its illumination, the plasma expansion area and extraction, beam transport and ion pre-acceleration by an RFQ, will be given

Alignment of the ALICE Inner Tracking System with cosmic-ray tracks

37 pages, 15 figures, revised version, accepted by JINSTALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) experiment devoted to investigating the strongly interacting matter created in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC energies. The ALICE ITS, Inner Tracking System, consists of six cylindrical layers of silicon detectors with three different technologies; in the outward direction: two layers of pixel detectors, two layers each of drift, and strip detectors. The number of parameters to be determined in the spatial alignment of the 2198 sensor modules of the ITS is about 13,000. The target alignment precision is well below 10 micron in some cases (pixels). The sources of alignment information include survey measurements, and the reconstructed tracks from cosmic rays and from proton-proton collisions. The main track-based alignment method uses the Millepede global approach. An iterative local method was developed and used as well. We present the results obtained for the ITS alignment using about 10^5 charged tracks from cosmic rays that have been collected during summer 2008, with the ALICE solenoidal magnet switched off.Peer reviewe

Transverse momentum spectra of charged particles in proton-proton collisions at s=900\sqrt{s} = 900 GeV with ALICE at the LHC

The inclusive charged particle transverse momentum distribution is measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 900$ GeV at the LHC using the ALICE detector. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region $(|\eta|<0.8)$ over the transverse momentum range $0.15<p_{\rm T}<10$ GeV/$c$. The correlation between transverse momentum and particle multiplicity is also studied. Results are presented for inelastic (INEL) and non-single-diffractive (NSD) events. The average transverse momentum for $|\eta|<0.8$ is $\left<p_{\rm T}\right>_{\rm INEL}=0.483\pm0.001$ (stat.) $\pm0.007$ (syst.) GeV/$c$ and \left_{\rm NSD}=0.489\pm0.001 (stat.) $\pm0.007$ (syst.) GeV/$c$, respectively. The data exhibit a slightly larger $\left<p_{\rm T}\right>$ than measurements in wider pseudorapidity intervals. The results are compared to simulations with the Monte Carlo event generators PYTHIA and PHOJET.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/390