Education technology based on a 3D model of house VirTec

In modern teaching, it is necessary to use modern technological achievements to involve students in the learning process, to create and constantly develop interesting and relevant teaching materials. Educational materials in a playful form have the appropriate qualities. Game effects are associated with user participation in the interactive process and provide a high interest in the information offered. Getting feedback in the gameplay is not only an indicator of the success of the educational process but also a guide in the step-by-step movement of the student in the learning process. Simulators of different objects are effective educational material that is available to students, contains the necessary information and functions, is simple and intuitive to use. This article provides an overview of different simulators with the study of the impact of their use on the effectiveness of the educational process. One of the simulators is created in the teamwork of the project “Development of a virtual learning environment in technical higher education” (VirTec, 2018), funded by the Erasmus program for 24 months, which includes organizations from four countries: Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Turkey, and Croatia.Makuteniene, D.; Ovtšarenko, O.; Safiulina, E.; Timinskas, E. (2020). Education technology based on a 3D model of house VirTec. En 6th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'20). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. (30-05-2020):545-553. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11104OCS54555330-05-202

Oriental Philosophical Systems and Work of Iris Murdoch (on the Example of the Novel “The Black Prince”)

The subject of study is the originality of the artistic vision of A. Murdoch, which involves in the plot of literary text, the collision and interweaving of various philosophical systems (existentialism, Marxism, Freudianism, neo-Catholicism, pragmatism). The main attention is paid to incorporating Eastern philosophical systems (Zen Buddhism, Sufism) into the work of the writer. The example of the novel “The Black Prince” by A. Murdoch shows the complex interweaving of the life history of the heroes of the work with the philosophical reflections of the author about the laws of the universe, world live order, God, man. The definitions of Zen Buddhism, Sufism, the Sufi Path, as well as the classification of “parking on the Path to the Almighty” are given. The results of a comparative analysis of the novel by A. Murdoch “The Black Prince” and the treatise “Mantiq-ut-tayr” by Sufi author F. Attar are presented. It is proved that Zen Buddhism and Sufism are implanted in the text of the Black Prince novel to create the effect of polyphony of opinions, voices as multidimensionality of being, ambiguity and insufficiency of one interpretation of human actions, as well as any phenomenon in being. An assumption is made about the proximity of the novel “The Black Prince” by A. Murdoch with the theory of Nassim Taleb’s “Black Swan”

N. S. Gumilyov in the light of the “new Hesychasm” by D. Andreev

The problem of N. S. Gumilyov’s philosophical and artistic reception in the work of D. Andreev is considered. Works devoted to the Russian writer N. S. Gumilev are investigated in connection with this. The relevance of the research is due to the need to state and highlight the problems of the Hesychast traditions in the work of Andreev, since the very life and work of the author of the “Rose of the World” became a continuation of the Russian Hesychastic spiritual, cultural and artistic tradition in the twentieth century. The definitions of the concepts “new Hesychasm by D. Andreev”, “Metaisihazm” are given. The novelty of the research is seen in the fact that for the first time in literary criticism the problem of the “new Hesychasm” of D. Andreev is raised. The Hesychast interpretation of the image and fate of Gumilyov is revealed. A classification of Hesychast practices of spiritual achievement is proposed, which Andreev refers to in order to characterize his older brother of the quill. The results of a comparative analysis of key lexemes in the works of Gumilev and Andreev are presented. The presence of these lexical markers is considered as evidence of a poetic dialogue, a convergence of poets through the decades. The significance of this dialogue in the construction of the metahistorical and life-giving poetic world of D. Andreev is revealed. The question regarding the interpretation of the image of N. S. Gumilev as a symbol of the “ennobled man” in the “Rose of the World” by D. Andreev is raised

PrPC Controls via Protein Kinase A the Direction of Synaptic Plasticity in the Immature Hippocampus

The cellular form of prion protein PrPC is highly expressed in the brain, where it can be converted into its abnormally folded isoform PrPSc to cause neurodegenerative diseases. Its predominant synaptic localization suggests a crucial role in synaptic signaling. Interestingly, PrPC is developmentally regulated and its high expression in the immature brain could be instrumental in regulating neurogenesis and cell proliferation. Here, PrPC-deficient (Prnp0/0) mice were used to assess whether the prion protein is involved in synaptic plasticity processes in the neonatal hippocampus. To this aim, calcium transients associated with giant depolarizing potentials, a hallmark of developmental networks, were transiently paired with mossy fiber activation in such a way that the two events were coincident. While this procedure caused long-term potentiation (LTP) in wild-type (WT) animals, it caused long-term depression (LTD) in Prnp0/0 mice. Induction of LTP was postsynaptic and required the activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) signaling. The induction of LTD was presynaptic and relied on G-protein-coupled GluK1 receptor and protein lipase C. In addition, at emerging CA3-CA1 synapses in WT mice, but not in Prnp0/0 mice, pairing Schaffer collateral stimulation with depolarization of CA1 principal cells induced LTP, known to be PKA dependent. Postsynaptic infusion of a constitutively active isoform of PKA catalytic subunit C\u3b1 into CA1 and CA3 principal cells in the hippocampus of Prnp0/0 mice caused a persistent synaptic facilitation that was occluded by subsequent pairing. These data suggest that PrPC plays a crucial role in regulating via PKA synaptic plasticity in the developing hippocampus. \ua9 2013 the authors

Social aspects of industrial safety: current challenge

The paper discusses the importance of social aspects in industrial safety. Specifics of the Russian society, manifested in culture and set of population’s values cause underestimation of social constituents when breaking labor safety rules. At the same time, industrial infrastructure differs significantly from the environment, so safety in these conditions tends to change its essential characteristics. Governmental measures aimed at the improvement of industrial safety are insufficient. According to the study it is important to consider a technological environment as a field of human activity

Control of GABA Release at Mossy Fiber-CA3 Connections in the Developing Hippocampus

In this review some of the recent work carried out in our laboratory concerning the functional role of GABAergic signalling at immature mossy fibres (MF)-CA3 principal cell synapses has been highlighted. While in adulthood MF, the axons of dentate gyrus granule cells release onto CA3 principal cells and interneurons glutamate, early in postnatal life they release GABA, which exerts into targeted cells a depolarizing and excitatory action. We found that GABAA-mediated postsynaptic currents (MF-GPSCs) exhibited a very low probability of release, were sensitive to L-AP4, a group III metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist, and revealed short-term frequency-dependent facilitation. Moreover, MF-GPSCs were down regulated by presynaptic GABAB and kainate receptors, activated by spillover of GABA from MF terminals and by glutamate present in the extracellular medium, respectively. Activation of these receptors contributed to the low release probability and in some cases to synapses silencing. By pairing calcium transients, associated with network-driven giant depolarizing potentials or GDPs (a hallmark of developmental networks thought to represent a primordial form of synchrony between neurons), generated by the synergistic action of glutamate and GABA with MF activation increased the probability of GABA release and caused the conversion of silent synapses into conductive ones suggesting that GDPs act as coincident detector signals for enhancing synaptic efficacy. Finally, to compare the relative strength of CA3 pyramidal cell output in relation to their MF glutamatergic or GABAergic inputs in adulthood or in postnatal development, respectively, a realistic model was constructed taking into account different biophysical properties of these synapses

The effect of feedstock treatment on the deasphalting process

© 2018, © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Transportation and further processing techniques of natural bitumen are of high demand nowadays. In the present article, deasphalting of bitumen with low-molecular oxygen containing solvents was proposed. A method for regulating the process of deasphalting aimed at increasing the yield of low-viscosity deasphalted oil was developed. The influence of the depth of distillation and solvent: feed ratio on the yield of the products of deasphalting was revealed. A study on various technological options for the primary processing of natural bitumen and ultra-high-viscosity oils for pipeline transport was conducted

Parvalbumin alters mitochondrial dynamics and affects cell morphology

The Ca2+-binding protein parvalbumin (PV) and mitochondria play important roles in Ca2+ signaling, buffering and sequestration. Antagonistic regulation of PV and mitochondrial volume is observed in in vitro and in vivo model systems. Changes in mitochondrial morphology, mitochondrial volume and dynamics (fusion, fission, mitophagy) resulting from modulation of PV were investigated in MDCK epithelial cells with stable overexpression/downregulation of PV. Increased PV levels resulted in smaller, roundish cells and shorter mitochondria, the latter phenomenon related to reduced fusion rates and decreased expression of genes involved in mitochondrial fusion. PV-overexpressing cells displayed increased mitophagy, a likely cause for the decreased mitochondrial volumes and the smaller overall cell size. Cells showed lower mobility in vitro, paralleled by reduced protrusions. Constitutive PV down- regulation in PV-overexpressing cells reverted mitochondrial morphology and fractional volume to the state present in control MDCK cells, resulting from increased mitochondrial movement and augmented fusion rates. PV-modulated, bi-directional and reversible mitochondrial dynamics are key to regulation of mitochondrial volume

The catalytic effects of carbonate minerals on characteristics of heavy oil in hydrothermal reactions

© 2018, © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Hydrothermal influences on heavy oil were simulated in laboratory conditions. The experimental model was composed of oil, calcite, dolomite, and manganese oxide. Oil to dominant mineral ratio was 1:1, where the content of manganese oxide was 5%. The hydrothermal reactions were carried out under the reservoir temperatures of 250–300°С and a pressure of 1–2 MPa. As a result of treatment, aromaticity of oil increased, while H:C ratio decreased from 1.92 to 1.61. The structures of newly formed light fractions were characterized by low molecular aromatic compounds, which were the destruction products of resins. The treatment provided removal of nitrogen and sulfur from crude oil, hence, decreasing the viscosity of products. The genotype of crude oil did not change. The quantitative changes in the ratio of isoprenoid alkanes to the linear ones were evaluated via geochemical coefficients of group composition