Perception of Prosodic and Aspectual Cues to Politeness in Teacher Directives in L1 and L2 Russian

Background: Several studies in interlanguage pragmatics have reported Russian directive speech acts to take a particular position within the dimensions of linguistic politeness and (in)directness, when compared to some Germanic and Romance languages extensively studied in this framework. Purpose of the study: The present paper aimed to investigate the role of language specific cues to politeness in Russian requests by examining their perception by native speakers and L2 learners in a scenario of teacher-student interaction. Methods: An experiment was conducted in which L1 and L2 groups rated the politeness of teacher directives in Russian on a discrete 7-point scale. Three variables were controlled for in the experimental design: the directness of the speech act (manifested in the choice between an imperative or an interrogative construction), verbal aspect, and the type of nuclear pitch accent. Findings: The obtained data generally corroborate existing studies, demonstrating that both native Russian speakers and learners of Russian with Chinese L1 do not judge as impolite direct imperative strategies employed in teacher requests. Though both groups of participants similarly relied on intonational cues in their judgements, the L2 learners did not perform target-like in evaluating the pragmatics of verbal aspect. Within the native group, the usage of imperfective verbs both in direct and conventionally indirect constructions was perceived as a highly salient indicator of impoliteness. Conversely, the size of this effect in L2 judgements did not reach a significance level, implying that this language specific cue is not acquired through incidental learning at pre-intermediate or intermediate proficiency levels. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings highlight the importance of explicit pragmatic instruction even for students who have sufficient experience studying abroad; furthermore, they outline new directions for empirical studies in Russian from the perspective of interlanguage pragmatics

Soil microorganisms in the urban ecosystems of the russian subarctic (Murmansk region, Apatity)

A comprehensive study of the quantitative and qualitative parameters of soil microfungi, bacteria and algae communities in the Apatity city, located in the subarctic zone of Russia, was carried out for the first time. Urban soil samples were taken from various landuse zones (residential, recreational) and compared to arable and forest soils. In the residential zone, a decrease in the number of microfungi in the topsoil horizon to 1.1 thous. CFU/g compared to 22.7 thous. CFU/g in forest soil was revealed. In the residential zone, an increase was found in the number of saprotrophic bacteria to 7.8 million cells g-1 and oligotrophic to 10.9 million cells g-1 compared to 2.6 million cells g-1 and 1.8 million cells g-1 respectively in forest soils. In the recreational zone, the number of soil microorganisms was similar to that in the forest. A decrease in the species diversity of microfungi in the soil of the residential zone and an increase in the diversity of soil algae were revealed. Among the dominant species of fungi in urban soils, atypical species, including pathogenic ones for humans (Penicillium dierckxii, Stachybotris echinatus, Fusarium sp.), were found. In the algal community, diatoms, yellow-green algae, and cyanobacteria appeared in urban soils in comparison with forest soil. As a result of changes in the quantitative and qualitative indicators of soil microbial communities, a decrease in the enzymatic activity of soils has been noted. This may indicate a weakening of the ecosystem functions of urban soils and an increase in the degree of toxicity for living organisms and humans

Mechanism of Disruption of the Amt-GlnK Complex by PII-Mediated Sensing of 2-Oxoglutarate

GlnK proteins regulate the active uptake of ammonium by Amt transport proteins by inserting their regulatory T-loops into the transport channels of the Amt trimer and physically blocking substrate passage. They sense the cellular nitrogen status through 2-oxoglutarate, and the energy level of the cell by binding both ATP and ADP with different affinities. The hyperthermophilic euryarchaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus possesses three Amt proteins, each encoded in an operon with a GlnK ortholog. One of these proteins, GlnK2 was recently found to be incapable of binding 2-OG, and in order to understand the implications of this finding we conducted a detailed structural and functional analysis of a second GlnK protein from A. fulgidus, GlnK3. Contrary to Af-GlnK2 this protein was able to bind both ATP/2-OG and ADP to yield inactive and functional states, respectively. Due to the thermostable nature of the protein we could observe the exact positioning of the notoriously flexible T-loops and explain the binding behavior of GlnK proteins to their interaction partner, the Amt proteins. A thermodynamic analysis of these binding events using microcalorimetry evaluated by microstate modeling revealed significant differences in binding cooperativity compared to other characterized PII proteins, underlining the diversity and adaptability of this class of regulatory signaling proteins

NAJZNAČAJNIJE OSNOVE PATOGENEZE COVID-19

At the end of 2019, a new coronavirus infection occurred in the People's Republic of China with an epicentre in the city of Wuhan. On February 11th, 2020, the World Health Organization assigned the official name of the infection caused by the new coronavirus – COVID-19. COVID-19 has affected people from all over the world given that the infection was noted in 200 countries resulting in annunciation of the pandemic situation. Human corona viruses cause mild to moderate respiratory infections. At the end of 2002, a new coronavirus appeared (SARS-CoV), the causal agent of atypical pneumonia, which caused acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The initial stage of COVID-19 infection is the penetration of SARS-CoV-2 into target cells that have angiotensin converting enzyme type II receptors. The virus enters the body through the respiratory tract and interacts primarily with toll-like receptors (TLRs). The events in SARS-Cov-2 induced infection follow the next scenario: epithelial cells via TLRs recognize and identify SARS-Cov-2, and after that the information is transmitted to the transcriptional NF-κB, which causes expression of the corresponding genes. Activated in this way, the epithelial cells begin to synthesize various biologically active molecules. The results obtained on preclinical material indicate that ROS generation increases and the antioxidant protection decreases, which plays a major role in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV, as well as in the progression and severity of this respiratory diseasePublishe

Economic processes in the safety measurement

The monograph covers the theoretical and methodological foundations of the formation of economic security system and the determinants of its development. Special attention is paid to the influence of geoeconomic factors on the country's economic security in the conditions of globalization and the elimination of the negative impact of world crises on the economic security of Ukraine. The monograph provides a thorough analysis of the international policy of ensuring national security in the context of economic and social aspects. The problem of economic security of regions and economic entities is investigated. The monograph is intended for scientists, lecturers, civil servants, specialists, managers of enterprises and financial institutions, teachers, postgraduates, students, as well as a wide range of readers who are studying national economic security problems

Fabrication and Characterization of 2D Nonlinear Structures Based on DAST Nanocrystals and SU-8 Photoresist for Terahertz Application

International audienceWe demonstrate a method for the realization of highly nonlinear optical 4-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)- 1-methylpyridinium tosylate (DAST) two-dimensional structures by a double-step technique. The desired polymeric structures were first fabricated by using the multiple exposure of the two-beam interference technique, and the DAST nanoscrystals were then prepared inside the air-voids of these photoresist templates, resulting in nonlinear periodic structures. The nonlinear properties were characterized by optical and scanning microscopies, as well as by second-harmonic generation technique. This nonlinear modulation is very promising for the enhancement of nonlinear conversion rates, such as terahertz generation, by using the quasi-phase matching technique

PAUSED Encodes the Arabidopsis Exportin-t Ortholog

Los1p/exportin-t (XPOT) mediates the nuclear export of tRNAs in yeast and mammals. The requirements for this transport pathway are unclear, however, because los1 mutations do not affect yeast growth, and the phenotype of XPOT mutations in mammals is unknown. Here, we show that PAUSED (PSD) is the Arabidopsis ortholog of LOS1/XPOT and is capable of rescuing the tRNA export defect of los1 in Brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), suggesting that its function has been conserved. Putative null alleles of PSD disrupt the initiation of the shoot apical meristem and delay leaf initiation after germination, the emergence of the radicle and lateral roots, and the transition to flowering. Plants doubly mutant for psd and hasty, the Arabidopsis ortholog of exportin 5, are viable but have a more severe phenotype than either single mutant. These results suggest that PSD plays a role in tRNA export in Arabidopsis, but that at least one—and perhaps several—additional tRNA export pathways also exist. The PSD transcript is broadly expressed during development and is alternatively spliced in the 3′-untranslated region. No temporal or spatial difference in the abundance of different splice forms was observed. We propose that the mutant phenotype of psd reflects defects in developmental events and cell/tissue types that require elevated levels of protein synthesis and are therefore acutely sensitive to a reduction in tRNA export

Development And Optimization Of Biological Treatment Of Quarry Waters From Mineral Nitrogen In The Subarctic

The new concept of bioremediation  of anthropogenic water bodies and quarry wastewaters treatment by phytoextraction and phytotransformation in the Subarctic conditions is presented.  This technology is based on transformating  the man-caused water reservoirs  into nature-like  marsh ecosystems.  At the first stage,  a new patented method for advanced waste treatment using floating bioplate was developed and implemented. After implementing  the bioplate, the concentration of ammonium ions in water decreased by 53-90%, nitrate nitrogen reduced by 15-20%. At the second stage, the floating bioplate technology was modified into the highly efficient purificating marsh ecosystem, which allowed to cover the waterbody  territory to the greatest possible extent. The technology is based on the creation of phytomats enabling in the accelerated mode to form plant blocks of three different types. They are aimed both at local grassing down, and at swamping deep and shallow areas of sediment ponds. In forming phytomats, two soil substitutional substrates (thermovermiculite  and wood sawdust) and regionally-optimized  assortment of 24 plant species are used. The proposed technology does not require energy, chemicals and soil components which are scarce in the region. The predominance of natural ecosystem  processes in the formed phytocenoses allows to achieve maximum efficiency, and the use of available materials contributes to minimizing the costs of creating and maintaining the system. The introduction of this technology and formation of the artificial phytocenosis  with the area of about 30% of the man-caused  reservoirs territory made it possible to increase the efficiency of wastewater treating from mineral nitrogen compounds  by 22%