Semiotic space of the frontier «city N» using the example of Samara of the provincial period (1851–1917)

The article analyzes the complex semiosphere of the city of Samara in the second half of the XIX – early XX century, transformed into a provincial center that has no ancient urban history, geographically belonging to the «inner outskirts» of the Russian Empire and combining simultaneously the features of the frontier and the provincial «city of N.» The authors prove that one of the new phenomena of urban socio-cultural life of the era of modernization is fashion, not only as an area responsible for urban costume, but also as a broad program of fashion signs, the assimilation of which led to the transformation of the provincial center, brought into a much larger rural environment, into a kind of «crucible» of culture, pulling under the surrounding space has its own level. It’s easy to be a city where the whole territory is permeated with urban history. But how to develop a set of urban signs of culture where the «wild field» was historically located earlier

Conductance relaxation in Langmuir-Blodgett manganese phthalocyanine (PcMn) films in inhomogeneous electrical field

The conductance relaxation of Langmuir-Blodgett films of manganese phthalocyanine in inhomogeneous electrical field was studied. Inhomogeneous electrical field was achieved by using the lateral surface of reverse-biased Si p-n junction. The conductance of new film increases up to saturation with the characteristic time about 10 hours. After that the film has been kept in air for a long time (about 50 days), on application of the back bias the conductance slowly decreased with the characteristic time more than 10 hours. These properties are associated with appearance or disappearance of the bonds between molecular stacks in the film

Azimuthal and polar anchoring energies of aligning layers structured by nonlinear laser lithography

In spite of the fact that there are different techniques in the creation of the high-quality liquid crystals (LCs) alignment by means of various surfaces, the azimuthal and polar anchoring energies as well as the pre-tilt angle are important parameters to all of them. Here, the modified by a certain manner aligning layers, previously formed by nonlinear laser lithography (NLL), having high-quality nano-periodic grooves on Ti surfaces, recently proposed for LC alignment was studied. The change of the scanning speed of NLL in the process of nano-structured Ti surfaces and their further modification by means of ITO-coating, and deposition of polyimide film has enabled different aligning layers, whose main characteristics, namely azimuthal and polar anchoring energies, were measured. For the modified aligning layers, the dependencies of the twist and pre-tilt angles for LC cells filled by nematic E7 ({\Delta}{\epsilon} > 0) and MLC-6609 ({\Delta}{\epsilon} < 0) were obtained. Also the contact angle for droplets of isotropic liquid (glycerol), and nematic LCs was measured for the various values of the scanning speed during the laser processing.Comment: 49 pages, 18 figure

New insights into electron spin dynamics in the presence of correlated noise

The changes of the spin depolarization length in zinc-blende semiconductors when an external component of correlated noise is added to a static driving electric field are analyzed for different values of field strength, noise amplitude and correlation time. Electron dynamics is simulated by a Monte Carlo procedure which keeps into account all the possible scattering phenomena of the hot electrons in the medium and includes the evolution of spin polarization. Spin depolarization is studied by examinating the decay of the initial spin polarization of the conduction electrons through the D'yakonov-Perel process, the only relevant relaxation mechanism in III-V crystals. Our results show that, for electric field amplitude lower than the Gunn field, the dephasing length shortens with the increasing of the noise intensity. Moreover, a nonmonotonic behavior of spin depolarization length with the noise correlation time is found, characterized by a maximum variation for values of noise correlation time comparable with the dephasing time. Instead, in high field conditions, we find that, critically depending on the noise correlation time, external fluctuations can positively affect the relaxation length. The influence of the inclusion of the electron-electron scattering mechanism is also shown and discussed.Comment: Published on "Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter" as "Fast Track Communications", 11 pages, 9 figure

The role of inflammatory system genes in individual differences in nonverbal intelligence

Nonverbal intelligence represents one of the components of brain cognitive functions, which uses visual images and nonverbal approaches for solving required tasks. Interaction between the nervous and immune systems plays a specif ic role in individual differences in brain cognitive functions. Therefore, the genes encoding pro- and antiinf lammatory cytokines are prospective candidate genes in the study of nonverbal intelligence. Within the framework of the present study, we conducted the association analysis of six SNPs in the genes that encode proteins involved in inf lammatory response regulation in the central nervous system (CRP rs3093077, IL1А rs1800587, IL1B rs16944, TNF/ LTA rs1041981, rs1800629, and P2RX7 rs2230912), with nonverbal intelligence in mentally healthy young adults aged 18– 25 years without cognitive decline with inclusion of sex, ethnicity and the presence of the “risky” APOE ε4 allele as covariates. Considering an important role of environmental factors in the development of brain cognitive functions in general and nonverbal intelligence in particular, we conducted an analysis of gene-by-environment (G × E) interactions. As a result of a statistical analysis, rs1041981 and rs1800629 in the tumor necrosis factor gene (TNF) were shown to be associated with a phenotypic variance in nonverbal intelligence at the haplotype level (for АА-haplotype: βST = 1.19; p = 0.033; pperm = 0.047) in carriers of the “risky” APOE ε4 allele. Gene-by-environment interaction models, which determined interindividual differences in nonverbal intelligence, have been constructed: sibship size (number of children in a family) and smoking demonstrated a modulating effect on association of the TNF/LTA (rs1041981) (β = 2.08; βST = 0.16; p = 0.001) and P2RX7 (rs2230912) (β = –1.70; βST = –0.10; p = 0.022) gene polymorphisms with nonverbal intelligence. The data obtained indicate that the effect of TNF/LTA on the development of cognitive functions is evident only in the presence of the “unfavorable” APOE ε4 variant and/or certain environmental conditions

The role of the KIBRA and APOE genes in developing spatial abilities in humans

In the contemporary high-tech society, spatial abilities predict individual life and professional success, especially in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines. According to neurobiological hypotheses, individual differences in cognitive abilities may be attributed to the functioning of genes involved in the regulation of neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity. In addition, genome-wide association studies identified rs17070145 located in the KIBRA gene, which was associated with individual differences in episodic memory. Considering a significant role of genetic and environmental components in cognitive functioning, the present study aimed to estimate the main effect of NGF (rs6330), NRXN1 (rs1045881, rs4971648), KIBRA (rs17070145), NRG1 (rs6994992), BDNF (rs6265), GRIN2B (rs3764030), APOE (rs7412, rs429358), and SNAP25 (rs363050) gene polymorphisms and to assess the effect of gene-environment interactions on individual differences in spatial ability in individuals without cognitive decline aged 18–25 years (N = 1011, 80 % women). Spatial abilities were measured using a battery of cognitive tests including the assessment of “3D shape rotation” (mental rotation). Multiple regression analysis, which was carried out in the total sample controlling for sex, ethnicity and the presence of the “risk” APOE ε4 allele, demonstrated the association of the rs17070145 Т-allele in the KIBRA gene with enhanced spatial ability (β = 1.32; pFDR = 0.037) compared to carriers of the rs17070145 CC-genotype. The analysis of gene-environment interactions revealed that nicotine smoking (β = 3.74; p = 0.010) and urban/rural residency in childhood (β = –6.94; p = 0.0002) modulated the association of KIBRA rs17070145 and АРОЕ (rs7412, rs429358) gene variants with individual differences in mental rotation, respectively. The data obtained confirm the effect of the KIBRA rs17070145 Т-allele on improved cognitive functioning and for the first time evidence the association of the mentioned genetic variant with spatial abilities in humans. A “protective” effect of the APOE ε2 allele on enhanced cognitive functioning is observed only under certain conditions related to childhood rearing

GENOMICS AND LINGUISTICS: INVOLVEMENT OF HEREDITARY FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUAL LANGUAGE ABILITIES

The development and formation of speech, language abilities of an individual is today one of the most interesting issues in psychogenetics. The use of an interdisciplinary approach allows you to take a broader look at the language abilities of a person. Description of the participation of not only exogenous environmental factors in their development, but also the influence of a certain proportion of hereditary determinants, both in normal and pathological conditions, allows us to form a more comprehensive idea of linguistic abilities and related cognitive processes occurring in the human body. This brief abstract emphasizes the important role of genetics in the formation of language and speech, and identifies a number of possible candidate genes involved in the activation of complex cognitive mechanisms associated with linguistic skills and their possible deformation.Развитие и становление речи, языковых способностей индивида представляется на сегодняшний день одним из весьма интересней ших вопросов в психогенетике. Применение междисциплинарногоподхода позволяет более широко взглянуть на языковые способности человека. Описание участия не только экзогенных факторов среды в их развитии, но и влияние некой доли наследственных детерминант как в норме, так и в патологии, позволяет сформировать более комплексное представление о лингвистических способностях и связанных с ними когнитивных процессах, протекающих в организме человека. В данном кратком сообщении подчеркнута важная роль генетики в становлении языка и речи, указан ряд возможных генов-кандидатов, задействованных в активации сложных когнитивных механизмов, сопряженных с лингвистическими навыками и их возможной деформацией.Работа выполнена при поддержке государственного задания Министерства науки и высшего образования Российской Федерации (FZWU-2020–0027), Министерства науки и высшего образования Российской Федерации (контракт № 1 от 28.12.2021)

LIPH Expression in Skin and Hair Follicles of Normal Coat and Rex Rabbits

Natural mutations in the LIPH gene were shown to be responsible for hair growth defects in humans and for the rex short hair phenotype in rabbits. In this species, we identified a single nucleotide deletion in LIPH (1362delA) introducing a stop codon in the C-terminal region of the protein. We investigated the expression of LIPH between normal coat and rex rabbits during critical fetal stages of hair follicle genesis, in adults and during hair follicle cycles. Transcripts were three times less expressed in both fetal and adult stages of the rex rabbits than in normal rabbits. In addition, the hair growth cycle phases affected the regulation of the transcription level in the normal and mutant phenotypes differently. LIPH mRNA and protein levels were higher in the outer root sheath (ORS) than in the inner root sheath (IRS), with a very weak signal in the IRS of rex rabbits. In vitro transfection shows that the mutant protein has a reduced lipase activity compared to the wild type form. Our results contribute to the characterization of the LIPH mode of action and confirm the crucial role of LIPH in hair production

GENETIC BASES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE

This publication is a brief overview of the concept of human spatial thinking. Spatial abilities are considered as a multidimensional set of cognitive traits that play an important role in the life of an individual. The criticality of various internal and external factors involved in the development of spatial intelligence, as well as the relevance of research conducted in this area of cognitive genomics, is noted.Данная публикация представляет собой краткий обзор понятия пространственного мышления человека. Пространственные способности рассматриваются как многомерный комплекс когнитивных черт, играющий важную роль в жизни индивида. Отмечается критичность вовлеченных в развитие пространственного интеллекта различных внутренних и внешних факторов, а также актуальность исследований, проводимых в этой области когнитивной геномики.Работа выполнена при поддержке государственного задания Министерства науки и высшего образования Российской Федерации (FZWU-2020–0027), Министерства науки и высшего образования Российской Федерации (контракт № 1 от 28.12.2021)