ENGINEERING STAFF TRAINING WITH CONSIDERATION OF MODERN ECONOMIC SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENTS

Introduction. Achievements in various fields of modern science have an impact not only on the development of science itself, but also on the formation of human capital, including training of technical personnel needed for the transition to an information society. The aim of the article is to show interinfluence of different sciences of engineering staff training and specific aspects of their training in modern conditions.Methodology and research methods. The research is based on the system-based approach, experimental knowledge generalization, comparative analysis and economics methodology. We used analysis of national and foreign literature, official documents and statistic data of the Russian Federation, Global Competitiveness Index. Also, information processing was carried out using graphic methods. Results. The influence of natural sciences on economic knowledge development as well as on perfection of engineering and engineering education is shown. Decrease in researcher numbers as well as lack of young people in engineering sciences is revealed. In particular, the following disturbing facts are established and emphasized: engineers are a fifth part among graduates and this share has been nearly constant during the last 10 years. However, the number of engineering specialists going abroad for work continues to grow. Scientific novelty. The conclusions on the influence of natural sciences on economic theory development as well applied economics on engineering development are made. Special aspects of modern engineers training as knowledge integrator are highlighted.Practical significance. Based on the analysis of official statistics, data the trend of engineering specialists decrease in Russia is shown. In connection with engineering staff aging and low number of engineering companies, the necessity for new engineering model implementation and new type of engineers training is emphasized.Введение. Достижения в различных областях современной науки оказывают влияние не только на развитие самой науки, но и на процесс формирования человеческого капитала, что в полной мере относится и к подготовке инженерно-технических кадров, необходимых для перехода к экономике знаний и к информационному обществу. Цель статьи – показать взаимовлияние различных наук в процессе подготовки будущих инженеров и особенности их обучения в современных условиях. Методология и методики исследования. Исследование базируется на системном подходе, обобщении опытного знания, сравнительном анализе и методологии экономической науки. Использовался анализ отечественной и зарубежной литературы, официальных документов и данных статистики Российской Федерации, а также Глобального индекса конкурентоспособности. Обработка информации осуществлялась, среди прочего, графическими методами.Результаты. Доказывается влияние естественных наук на развитие экономического знания, достижений экономической науки на совершенствование инжиниринга и инженерного образования. Выявлены уменьшение численности исследователей и недостаток молодежи в области технических наук. Установлены и акцентированы следующие тревожные факты: среди выпускников вузов инженеры составляют пятую часть, и эта доля за последние 10 лет практически не меняется; вместе с тем продолжает расти количество технических специалистов, выехавших на работу за рубеж. Научная новизна. Сделаны выводы о влиянии естественных наук на развитие экономической теории, а также прикладной экономики на развитие инженерного дела. Описана специфика подготовки современного инженера как интегратора знаний.Практическая значимость. На основе анализа официальной статистики обозначена тенденция сокращения технических специалистов в России. В связи со старением инженерных кадров и малочисленностью инжиниринговых компаний, подчеркивается необходимость разработки и внедрения усовершенствованной, отвечающей запросам времени модели инжиниринга и подготовки инженера нового типа

Morphological features of wild boar individuals of semifree content

The article reflects the results of the study of morphological features of wild boars of semi-free content on the basis of their comparison with the corresponding parameters of wild boar

Evidence that the Human Pathogenic Fungus Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii May Have Evolved in Africa

Most of the species of fungi that cause disease in mammals, including Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii (serotype A), are exogenous and non-contagious. Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii is associated worldwide with avian and arboreal habitats. This airborne, opportunistic pathogen is profoundly neurotropic and the leading cause of fungal meningitis. Patients with HIV/AIDS have been ravaged by cryptococcosis – an estimated one million new cases occur each year, and mortality approaches 50%. Using phylogenetic and population genetic analyses, we present evidence that C. neoformans var. grubii may have evolved from a diverse population in southern Africa. Our ecological studies support the hypothesis that a few of these strains acquired a new environmental reservoir, the excreta of feral pigeons (Columba livia), and were globally dispersed by the migration of birds and humans. This investigation also discovered a novel arboreal reservoir for highly diverse strains of C. neoformans var. grubii that are restricted to southern Africa, the mopane tree (Colophospermum mopane). This finding may have significant public health implications because these primal strains have optimal potential for evolution and because mopane trees contribute to the local economy as a source of timber, folkloric remedies and the edible mopane worm

Genotypic Diversity Is Associated with Clinical Outcome and Phenotype in Cryptococcal Meningitis across Southern Africa.

Cryptococcal meningitis is a major cause of mortality throughout the developing world, yet little is known about the genetic markers underlying Cryptococcal virulence and patient outcome. We studied a cohort of 230 Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn) isolates from HIV-positive South African clinical trial patients with detailed clinical follow-up using multi-locus sequence typing and in vitro phenotypic virulence assays, correlating these data with clinical and fungal markers of disease in the patient. South African Cn displayed high levels of genetic diversity and locus variability compared to globally distributed types, and we identified 50 sequence types grouped within the main molecular types VNI, VNII and VNB, with 72% of isolates typed into one of seven 'high frequency' sequence types. Spatial analysis of patients' cryptococcal genotype was not shown to be clustered geographically, which might argue against recent local acquisition and in favour of reactivation of latent infection. Through comparison of MLST genotyping data with clinical parameters, we found a relationship between genetic lineage and clinical outcome, with patients infected with the VNB lineage having significantly worse survival (n=8, HR 3.35, CI 1.51-7.20, p=0.003), and this was maintained even after adjustment for known prognostic indicators and treatment regimen. Comparison of fungal genotype with in vitro phenotype (phagocytosis, laccase activity and CSF survival) performed on a subset of 89 isolates revealed evidence of lineage-associated virulence phenotype, with the VNII lineage displaying increased laccase activity (p=0.001) and ex vivo CSF survival (p=0.0001). These findings show that Cryptococcus neoformans is a phenotypically heterogeneous pathogen, and that lineage plays an important role in cryptococcal virulence during human infection. Furthermore, a detailed understanding of the genetic diversity in Southern Africa will support further investigation into how genetic diversity is structured across African environments, allowing assessment of the risks different ecotypes pose to infection

Microevolution of serial clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii and C. gattii

This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.The pathogenic species of Cryptococcus are a major cause of mortality owing to severe infections in immunocompromised as well as immunocompetent individuals. Although antifungal treatment is usually effective, many patients relapse after treatment, and in such cases, comparative analyses of the genomes of incident and relapse isolates may reveal evidence of determinative, microevolutionary changes within the host. Here, we analyzed serial isolates cultured from cerebrospinal fluid specimens of 18 South African patients with recurrent cryptococcal meningitis. The time between collection of the incident isolates and collection of the relapse isolates ranged from 124 days to 290 days, and the analyses revealed that, during this period within the patients, the isolates underwent several genetic and phenotypic changes. Considering the vast genetic diversity of cryptococcal isolates in subSaharan Africa, it was not surprising to find that the relapse isolates had acquired different genetic and correlative phenotypic changes. They exhibited various mechanisms for enhancing virulence, such as growth at 39°C, adaptation to stress, and capsule production; a remarkable amplification of ERG11 at the native and unlinked locus may provide stable resistance to fluconazole. Our data provide a deeper understanding of the microevolution of Cryptococcus species under pressure from antifungal chemotherapy and host immune responses. This investigation clearly suggests a promising strategy to identify novel targets for improved diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis.Wellcome TrustNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease

Microevolution of Serial Clinical Isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii and C. gattii

We thank the Broad Institute Sequencing Platform for generating the Illumina sequences. We thank Chen-Hsin Yu for helping on the data processing of the phenotypic tests. We acknowledge the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases’ GERMS-SA surveillance network through which these isolates were originally collected. This project has been funded in whole or in part by the following U.S. Health and Human Services grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: U19 AI110818 (Broad Institute), R01 AI93257 (J.R.P.), R01 AI73896 (J.R.P.), and R01 AI025783 (T.G.M.). R.A.F. was supported by the Wellcome Trust. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The content is solely our responsibility and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders. The use of product names in this manuscript does not imply their endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the CDC.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Whole-genome analysis of Exserohilum rostratum from an outbreak of fungal meningitis and other infections

Exserohilum rostratum was the cause of most cases of fungal meningitis and other infections associated with the injection of contaminated methylprednisolone acetate produced by the New England Compounding Center (NECC). Until this outbreak, very few human cases of Exserohilum infection had been reported, and very little was known about this dematiaceous fungus, which usually infects plants. Here, we report using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and phylogenetic analysis to investigate the molecular origin of the outbreak using 22 isolates of E. rostratum retrieved from 19 case patients with meningitis or epidural/spinal abscesses, 6 isolates from contaminated NECC vials, and 7 isolates unrelated to the outbreak. Our analysis indicates that all 28 isolates associated with the outbreak had nearly identical genomes of 33.8 Mb. A total of 8 SNPs were detected among the outbreak genomes, with no more than 2 SNPs separating any 2 of the 28 genomes. The outbreak genomes were separated from the next most closely related control strain by ∼136,000 SNPs. We also observed significant genomic variability among strains unrelated to the outbreak, which may suggest the possibility of cryptic speciation in E. rostratum

Diploids in the Cryptococcus neoformans Serotype A Population Homozygous for the α Mating Type Originate via Unisexual Mating

The ubiquitous environmental human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans is traditionally considered a haploid fungus with a bipolar mating system. In nature, the α mating type is overwhelmingly predominant over a. How genetic diversity is generated and maintained by this heterothallic fungus in a largely unisexual α population is unclear. Recently it was discovered that C. neoformans can undergo same-sex mating under laboratory conditions generating both diploid intermediates and haploid recombinant progeny. Same-sex mating (α-α) also occurs in nature as evidenced by the existence of natural diploid αADα hybrids that arose by fusion between two α cells of different serotypes (A and D). How significantly this novel sexual style contributes to genetic diversity of the Cryptococcus population was unknown. In this study, ∼500 natural C. neoformans isolates were tested for ploidy and close to 8% were found to be diploid by fluorescence flow cytometry analysis. The majority of these diploids were serotype A isolates with two copies of the α MAT locus allele. Among those, several are intra-varietal allodiploid hybrids produced by fusion of two genetically distinct α cells through same-sex mating. The majority, however, are autodiploids that harbor two seemingly identical copies of the genome and arose via either endoreplication or clonal mating. The diploids identified were isolated from different geographic locations and varied genotypically and phenotypically, indicating independent non-clonal origins. The present study demonstrates that unisexual mating produces diploid isolates of C. neoformans in nature, giving rise to populations of hybrids and mixed ploidy. Our findings underscore the importance of same-sex mating in shaping the current population structure of this important human pathogenic fungus, with implications for mechanisms of selfing and inbreeding in other microbial pathogens

Cryptococcus: from environmental saprophyte to global pathogen.

Cryptococcosis is a globally distributed invasive fungal infection that is caused by species within the genus Cryptococcus which presents substantial therapeutic challenges. Although natural human-to-human transmission has never been observed, recent work has identified multiple virulence mechanisms that enable cryptococci to infect, disseminate within and ultimately kill their human host. In this Review, we describe these recent discoveries that illustrate the intricacy of host-pathogen interactions and reveal new details about the host immune responses that either help to protect against disease or increase host susceptibility. In addition, we discuss how this improved understanding of both the host and the pathogen informs potential new avenues for therapeutic development