Visual novels as a method of foreign language project competence development

One of the main competencies developed in the process of future programmers training is a competence in project activities. The purpose of this study is to describe the methodological support of the process of creating visual novels as a way foreign language project competence development. The research methodology is based on an experimental methodology based on the principles of interdisciplinary integration and the principles of communication. We specified the definition of the foreign language project competence as a set of knowledge, skills and abilities to organize project activities using a foreign language, experience in creating and presenting final professional products in a foreign language, as well as value orientations of a modern IT-specialist. The content of foreign-language project competence includes linguistic-structural, communicative and presentation components. The practical focus of the research is to create final products that can be used for further improvement of foreign language communication skills, and can also be used as independent interactive projects for the IT-sphere.Одной из основных компетенций, формируемых в процессе подготовки будущих программистов, является компетенция в проектной деятельности. Цель данного исследования заключается в описании методического сопровождения процесса создания визуальных новелл как способа формирования иноязычной проектной компетенции. В основе методологической базы исследования лежит экспериментальная методика, которая строится на принципах междисциплинарной интеграции и принципах коммуникативности. Мы уточнили, что иноязычная проектная компетенция представляет собой совокупность знаний, умений и навыков организации проектной деятельности средствами иностранного языка, опыта создания и презентации конечных профессиональных продуктов на иностранном языке, а также ценностных ориентаций современного IT-специалиста. Содержание иноязычной проектной компетенции включает в себя лингво-структурный, коммуникативный и презентационный компоненты. Практическая направленность исследования заключается в создании студентами конечных продуктов, которые могут иметь применение для дальнейшего совершенствования иноязычных коммуникативных навыков, а также могут быть использованы как самостоятельные интерактивные проекты для IT-сферы

The politics of in/visibility: carving out queer space in Ul'yanovsk

<p>In spite of a growing interest within sexualities studies in the concept of queer space (Oswin 2008), existing literature focuses almost exclusively on its most visible and territorialised forms, such as the gay scene, thus privileging Western metropolitan areas as hubs of queer consumer culture (Binnie 2004). While the literature has emphasised the political significance of queer space as a site of resistance to hegemonic gender and sexual norms, it has again predominantly focused on overt claims to public space embodied in Pride events, neglecting other less open forms of resistance.</p><p> This article contributes new insights to current debates about the construction and meaning of queer space by considering how city space is appropriated by an informal queer network in Ul’ianovsk. The group routinely occupied very public locations meeting and socialising on the street or in mainstream cafés in central Ul’ianovsk, although claims to these spaces as queer were mostly contingent, precarious or invisible to outsiders. The article considers how provincial location affects tactics used to carve out communal space, foregrounding the importance of local context and collective agency in shaping specific forms of resistance, and questioning ethnocentric assumptions about the empowering potential of visibility.</p&gt

Stable multicolor periodic-wave arrays

We study the existence and stability of cnoidal periodic wave arrays propagating in uniform quadratic nonlinear media and discover that they become completely stable above a threshold light intensity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example in physics of completely stable periodic wave patterns propagating in conservative uniform media supporting bright solitons.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Potassium Dependent Regulation of Astrocyte Water Permeability Is Mediated by cAMP Signaling

Astrocytes express potassium and water channels to support dynamic regulation of potassium homeostasis. Potassium kinetics can be modulated by aquaporin-4 (AQP4), the essential water channel for astrocyte water permeability regulation. We investigated whether extracellular potassium ([K+]o) can regulate astrocyte water permeability and the mechanisms of such an effect. Studies were performed on rat primary astrocytes and a rat astrocyte cell line transfected with AQP4. We found that 10mM [K+]o caused an immediate, more than 40%, increase in astrocyte water permeability which was sustained in 5min. The water channel AQP4 was a target for this regulation. Potassium induced a significant increase in intracellular cAMP as measured with a FRET based method and with enzyme immunoassay. We found that protein kinase A (PKA) could phosphorylate AQP4 in vitro. Further elevation of [K+]o to 35mM induced a global intracellular calcium response and a transient water permeability increase that was abolished in 5min. When inwardly rectifying potassium (Kir)-channels were blocked, 10mM [K+]o also induced a calcium increase and the water permeability increase no longer persisted. In conclusion, we find that elevation of extracellular potassium regulates AQP4 and astrocyte water permeability via intracellular signaling involving cAMP. A prolonged increase of astrocyte water permeability is Kir-channel dependent and this response can be impeded by intracellular calcium signaling. Our results support the concept of coupling between AQP4 and potassium handling in astrocytes

Immunohistochemical localization and mRNA expression of aquaporins in the macula utriculi of patients with Meniere’s disease and acoustic neuroma

Meniere’s disease is nearly invariably associated with endolymphatic hydrops (the net accumulation of water in the inner ear endolymphatic space). Vestibular maculae utriculi were acquired from patients undergoing surgery for Meniere’s disease and acoustic neuroma and from autopsy (subjects with normal hearing and balance). Quantitative immunostaining was conducted with antibodies against aquaporins (AQPs) 1, 4, and 6, Na+K+ATPase, Na+K+2Cl co-transporter (NKCC1), and α-syntrophin. mRNA was extracted from the surgically acquired utricles from subjects with Meniere’s disease and acoustic neuroma to conduct quantitative real-time reverse transcription with polymerase chain reaction for AQP1, AQP4, and AQP6. AQP1 immunoreactivity (−IR) was located in blood vessels and fibrocytes in the underlying stroma, without any apparent alteration in Meniere’s specimens when compared with acoustic neuroma and autopsy specimens. AQP4-IR localized to the epithelial basolateral supporting cells in Meniere’s disease, acoustic neuroma, and autopsy. In specimens from subjects with Meniere’s disease, AQP4-IR was significantly decreased compared with autopsy and acoustic neuroma specimens. AQP6-IR occurred in the sub-apical vestibular supporting cells in acoustic neuroma and autopsy samples. However, in Meniere’s disease specimens, AQP6-IR was significantly increased and diffusely redistributed throughout the supporting cell cytoplasm. Na+K+ATPase, NKCC1, and α-syntrophin were expressed within sensory epithelia and were unaltered in Meniere’s disease specimens. Expression of AQP1, AQP4, or AQP6 mRNA did not differ in vestibular endorgans from patients with Meniere’s disease. Changes in AQP4 (decreased) and AQP6 (increased) expression in Meniere’s disease specimens suggest that the supporting cell might be a cellular target

Physiology and pathophysiology of the vasopressin-regulated renal water reabsorption

To prevent dehydration, terrestrial animals and humans have developed a sensitive and versatile system to maintain their water homeostasis. In states of hypernatremia or hypovolemia, the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin (AVP) is released from the pituitary and binds its type-2 receptor in renal principal cells. This triggers an intracellular cAMP signaling cascade, which phosphorylates aquaporin-2 (AQP2) and targets the channel to the apical plasma membrane. Driven by an osmotic gradient, pro-urinary water then passes the membrane through AQP2 and leaves the cell on the basolateral side via AQP3 and AQP4 water channels. When water homeostasis is restored, AVP levels decline, and AQP2 is internalized from the plasma membrane, leaving the plasma membrane watertight again. The action of AVP is counterbalanced by several hormones like prostaglandin E2, bradykinin, dopamine, endothelin-1, acetylcholine, epidermal growth factor, and purines. Moreover, AQP2 is strongly involved in the pathophysiology of disorders characterized by renal concentrating defects, as well as conditions associated with severe water retention. This review focuses on our recent increase in understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying AVP-regulated renal water transport in both health and disease

Methodology of teaching graphic methods for solving problems with parameters as a means to achieve high mathematics learning outcomes at school

© 2019 by the authors. The introduction of new standards of mathematical education requires to stop understanding of the learning process as the transfer of ready-made knowledge and experience. Educational activity built on the principle of self-construction of knowledge by schoolchildren is highly demanded in new environment. Tasks with parameters have high learning, development, research and diagnostic potential. It allows to identify and in the process of teaching mathematics to prepare students who possess subject knowledge at the highest level, corresponding to the trends of the time. The urgency of the problem under study is determined by the need for students to form the ability to solve problems with parameters in order to achieve high results in mathematical, intellectual and personal development. The aim of the research is to develop a methodology for teaching students how to solve problems with parameters as an effective means of high-quality mathematical studies. The authors have identified main methods for solving problems with parameters and approaches to their study, and proved the theoretical basis for the application of these methods in the learning process. Therefore, they have shown the role of the propaedeutic stage of teaching graphic methods for solving problems with parameters, its goals, objectives and content. The authors suggest a methodology for designing a system of tasks that contributes to achieving high learning outcomes, which has passed multi-stage approbation. Moreover, they prove the need to use the Live Mathematics software as an effective visualization tool for studying graphic methods for solving problems with parameters. The methodology described in the article can be used by teachers at school and extracurricular mathematics classes, by the authors of textbooks for students and teachers, and it can also be the basis for a special course for students of pedagogical universities